Whatever Doesn't Kill You
by xMissMacaroni
Summary: OLD, might be remodeled one day Luna Vale is a simple patient at Arkham Asylum. She doesn't talk; doesn't interact. But when the Asylum gets a new visitor, will she change? What will her life become by the side of the Joker? M for later chapters JxOC
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! So I'm publishing a Joker story—one with chapters and everything—here on FanFiction! I hope you all like it! Oh, and I'm sorry it's so short. But be patient with it. I promise it gets better.

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Luna walked robotically behind a large male nurse dressed in white. She had long, brown hair that reached her shoulder blades and dull brown eyes that seemed to have lost their sparkle long ago. She had lightly tanned skin that complemented her dark hair and eyes. She was rather short, around 5'3'' and looked as if she had an average body structure for a woman of her age; 23. Her hands were cuffed, her feet were bound in chains. She wore an over-sized orange jumpsuit with the words 'Arkham Asylum' printed on the back. On the front, over her heart, was a small bar-code. Her identification in the asylum.

"Hurry along, Luna," came the voice of the male nurse before her.

Luna shifted her eyes toward him, emotionless. He was leading her to her cell through the white hallways of the asylum. All along the walls were cells, each one containing a different person with a different mental illness. Luna's cell was at the end of the corridor. Cell number 665. When she saw the cell, she blinked a few times, knowing she'd have to walk in and stay there for the rest of the night.

"In you go," came the male nurse's voice once more. He had opened the door to her cell and stood to the side, giving Luna space to enter.

Just as Luna was about to take a step towards the cell, another pair of voices was heard from up the hall. "Comin' through," said the voice of another male nurse. "Someone open cell 666," came the voice of another.

Luna turned and saw two large male nurses drag someone down the hall, towards the cell in front of hers. She watched as her nurse walked to cell 666 and opened it, stepping aside for the two coming his way. Luna watched with a blank stare. These nurses held a man's body, she knew that. With closer inspection, she could see hints of green in his long, blondish locks. She saw nothing of his face, though, for his head was bent down. It looked like he was knocked out.

"Who's this crazy?" asked Luna's nurse.

The two other men shoved the man's body into the cell, roughly making sure he landed on the small cot in the corner. Then they stepped out and shut the door. One turned and rolled his eyes. "New criminal on the streets. Calls himself the Joker," he replied.

Luna stood on the tips of her toes to peer inside the small window to cell 666. The man had not moved from his cot. She stood flat on her feet and then looked at the nurses who were talking amongst themselves about this "Joker."

One of the nurses that carried in the Joker looked at Luna and smiled. "Evening, Luna," he greeted her.

Luna looked at him. All of the nurses and doctors in Arkham Asylum knew of Luna. She was on of the better looking inmates and never spoke a word to anyone. She had been admitted to Arkham when she was just 19 after being found unconscious in an alley. No one knew what happened to her before she was found, not even Luna herself. But her first day in Arkham was something that she would never forget. It was the last time she had spoken to anyone.

_Luna looked around her white surroundings and groaned. She was lying in a small cot, dressed in bright orange clothing. She looked around and frowned. "Where am I?" she asked. Her voice was as clear as a bell, and as smooth as an angel's._

_"Ah, so you're awake! I'm so glad to see you're ok," came the voice of an elderly man._

_Luna looked ahead of her and saw an old man standing in the doorway to her small, white room. "Who are you? Where am I?" she asked frantically. She stood up shakily. "Who am I?"_

_The man before her looked at her with worry and concern. "You don't know who you are?" he asked._

_Luna looked at him. She thought for a moment. "No," she replied._

_The man sighed. "Follow me, dear," he said, walking away._

_Luna quickly followed after him down a hallway and then into what looked like an office. She saw the man walk over to a desk and pick up a folder. He turned back to her and opened the folder._

_Luna looked at the contents. It was a picture of her on what looked like a Driver's License. Luna Vale was her name. Born in Gotham City. Age, 19. She moved the license aside and gasped at a large photo that was under it. It looked like Luna, her body, sprawled out on the concrete near a couple of dumpsters. She was covered in cuts and bruises, her clothing was torn to shreds and stained in blood. Her body looked as if it was bent in ways that humans should not be able to bend._

_Luna's eyes filled with tears. "Is this...me?" she asked, looking up at the man before her._

_"Yes, dear. It is. Gotham Police found you in this condition not too far from here," he said to her._

_Luna looked down at the picture. She saw a long, crimson gash on the side of her head. She lifted her hand to her head and felt around. There was definitely a scar on her scalp now. She frowned. A scar? "How long ago was this?" she asked._

_The man sighed. "Six months. You've been in a coma for about five and a half months. Just recently you woke up in a screaming fit, asking for your mother and brother. You didn't seem to be fully awake. More like in a dream state, but conscious of your surroundings. You knocked out several nurses on a little rampage trying to get out of the hospital," the man explained. "That was last week. You've been in a trance like state since then, not saying a word, not eating."_

_Luna frowned. "And why don't I remember any of that?" she asked._

_"My guess is you suffered major head trauma from that nasty wound. You might have lost some of your memory. And maybe developed a...split personality that you slip into from time to time," he said._

_Luna looked around, observing all of what she saw, but she wasn't interested in any of it. She had been in some sort of accident or suffered from some form of abuse. She had lost part of her memory, and it seemed she developed another personality. She looked at the man in front of her, giving him an emotionless stare._

_"Luna?" he asked._

_She looked at him and then without realizing it, fell backwards and passed out._

Luna closed her eyes and reopened them as she visited that part of her memory. Since then, she had not spoken a word to anyone. Sometimes she would find herself waking up in her cell when she didn't remember going there. And sometimes she over heard nurses talking about how violent she was earlier that day, when Luna recalled no such time where she was violent.

"Well, good night, Luna," said the two nurses that had drug in the man's body.

Luna looked after them as they walked away and then turned, facing her cell. She wanted to be left alone. To retreat into the quiet of her small cell. So she stepped into her cell, turning and facing her nurse. He smiled at her and removed her hand cuffs and chains.

"Sleep well, Luna. I'll see you in the morning," he said, closing her cell door gently, locking it, and then walking away.

Luna stood in the same position that she was when the nurse walked away. She looked out the window to her door and across the hall, to cell 666. What she saw made her eyes widen slightly. Standing just as she was, was the Joker. He was looking through his window, staring at her intently. He looked evil and sinister. He had white face paint all over his face, but it was terribly smudged in some places. Black eye paint around his eyes was smudged and fading to gray as well. And finally, blood red lipstick was smeared on his lips and up his cheeks, into a smile. His appearance interested Luna, and she tilted her head to the side slightly. She noticed he did the same. She straightened her head and saw he mimicked.

Luna's heart beat just a little bit faster than it's normal, resting pace. Interaction with another inmate wasn't common for her. The most she ever did was look at them. But this was different. She felt a connection with this man, the Joker. Luna breathed against the window, and watched it fog up. Then she lifted her finger and wrote "Hello." It stayed there for a few moments before eventually disappearing. She looked across the hallway and looked at the Joker. She saw him breathe on the window as well, and watched him write "Hi" with his finger.

And for the first time in four years, Luna smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys! This is the second chapter. It's still a little short, but don't worry. It's only the beginning of the story. Anywho, I hope you enjoy it and don't forget to review!

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Luna had stayed up until the early hours of the morning sending messages to the Joker. In their small windows, they would fog up the glass and write small things to each other. She had let the Joker know her name, but nothing else, for he offered no information in return. She remembered writing "scars?" in the window and signaled to her face. She was asking him if the red lipstick drawn so far up was to cover scars. He had nodded to that. It made Luna wonder how he could have gotten scars like that.

But finally Luna had fallen to the floor from exhaustion and fatigue, and that's where she slept. She didn't know if the Joker had gone to sleep after seeing her fall, but she did know that he was awake before she was.

Luna had only awoken because her male nurse had come and opened the door. He had leapt back in shock when Luna tumbled to the ground when the door was opened and she had nothing to support herself with. He had picked her up, steadying her on her feet and had asked if she was alright, though Luna knew by the look in his eyes that he was aware he wouldn't get an answer.

When Luna looked across the hall, to the Joker's window, she hid her smile. He was awake, and seemed to be watching what had happened with amusement. Then he lifted his eyes to meet hers. He gave her a wink and walked into his small cell, disappearing from Luna's view.

"Come, Luna. Time for you routine," said the nurse. He led Luna down the hall where the inmate bathrooms were located. When they reached the door to the female's bathroom, Luna walked in by herself. Inside was an elderly nurse who smiled a her warmly.

"Morning, Luna. Ready for your shower?" she asked.

Luna didn't say anything, but instead stood still as the nurse came toward her. She obediently stood still as the orange jumpsuit was removed from her body and she was lead into a curtain-closed shower. The warm water hit her and Luna relaxed just a bit. This was the best part of her day. The relaxing, 5 minute shower. She took care of washing herself and was rinsed just in time for the water to cut off. She dried herself with a towel and walked out with a fresh pair of undergarments on. The elderly nurse pulled a new, clean orange jumpsuit.

"There you go! All clean," the nurse said, leading Luna over to a wall of sinks. She gave Luna a tooth brush with toothpaste on it.

Luna took the brush and brushed her teeth thoroughly, spitting and rinsing afterwards. She handed the toothbrush to the nurse and stood there as the nurse disposed of the used toothbrush. Then she returned, grabbing a hair brush, running it through Luna's long, brown hair. Once she was finished, she escorted Luna out of the bathroom where her nurse was waiting for her.

Luna stood still and held out her hands. It was the same thing every morning. She would go through her normal hygienic routine in the mornings and when she was done, the cuffs and chains would come on. Then she would be led down to the mess hall for privileged inmates where she would eat breakfast. After breakfast, she would go to her cell until her time to meet with her doctor came around. If someone wasn't crazy before going into Arkham, the repeating days and schedules would certainly drive them crazy.

As Luna was led down to the mess hall, she looked around the room at all the privileged inmates. Was he there? She doubted it. She walked to one of the tables and sat down, already grabbing her breakfast of an apple and oatmeal. She ate her food slowly, letting her eyes scan the room. No Joker. She didn't expect him to be there. She had heard the nurses last night call him a criminal. They would never give a criminal the privilege of eating with other inmates. But they couldn't cut off his interaction completely, that much she knew. Usually, an entire corridor was allowed outside once a day, to get a little sun and fresh air. Surely then she would see him.

"You're a lucky lady, Luna. Your corridor is on its way outside now," said her nurse when she had finished eating.

Luna looked up and followed the man out of the mess hall and down a few hallways. Then he opened a door for her and Luna stepped out into the early morning sunlight. Luna took in a large breath of air and walked further into the courtyard. From that point, she didn't need her nurse following her and leading her everywhere. She walked further out and sat on a bench, closing her eyes and feeling the Fall breeze blow against her skin.

"Hello...Luna," came a high-pitched, but still manly, voice. It sent shivers down Luna's spine.

Luna turned and looked up at the man behind her. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the Joker. She watched as he walked around her and sat across from her on the bench a few feet in front of the one she was seated on.

"Have a nice morning?" he asked, clasping his hands and resting his elbows on his knees while his chin rested on his hands. He looked at her, ginning.

Luna couldn't help but smile in return. She nodded, pulling her legs up on the bench indian-style. She smiled a little more as he mimicked her.

"Talk much?" he asked.

Luna shook her head, biting her lip nervously. This was the most interaction she had had with anyone in four years.

The Joker noticed her nervousness and his grin widened. "No need to be nervous around me, Luna," he said sweetly, batting his eyelashes at her.

Luna blinked a few times and smiled a little wider, actually showing her perfect, white teeth. "I haven't..spoken in a while.." she mumbled, her voice raspy from not having been used in a very long time.

Movement around Luna and the Joker stopped. Inmates that were around the two completely stopped what they were doing and looked over at Luna in shock. Eventually, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over to the pair sitting on the benches. The sudden lack of movement alerted the guards around the fences. Everyone's eyes were now on Luna and the Joker.

Luna looked around with wide eyes, noticing everyone was staring at her in disbelief. She looked at the Joker, her smile fading. "They're...staring at me..." she said, her voice cracking.

The Joker looked around, eyebrows raised. "So they are..." he said. Then he shifted his eyes back to Luna. "But only you and I matter. Forget about the other people watching. They don't exist," he said. He watched as Luna looked down, seeming to gather her courage to continue speaking. He licked his lips and smiled as she looked back up at him, with a smile of her own playing across her lips. "You should smile more," he said bluntly, watching a blush rise to Luna's cheeks.

Luna's face heated at his comment. She was still very aware of the eyes watching her. She was about to say something when she heard the hurried shuffle of feet behind her. She saw a shadow come over her, but she didn't look back to see who it was. Instead, she looked at the Joker, who had averted his gaze from her, to the person behind her.

"Luna!" came the gasp from her doctor, Dr. Cowen.

The Joker squinted up at the doctor. "Can't ya see we're having a conversation?" he asked, his voice holding a hint of mockery.

Dr. Cowen ignored the Joker's comment. "Luna! You spoke!" he said. Luna could hear the smile and disbelief in his voice.

The Joker rolled his eyes and smacked his lips. "Yeah, I think we got that, Doc."

Dr. Cowen finally looked at the Joker, frowning. "You're lucky to be out here, Joker," he hissed.

The Joker cackled in amusement. "Hah! I don't think that's a very nice way to treat the man who just got lovely Luna here to speak after what...four years?" he asked, looking up at the doctor. He was mocking him.

Luna watched as the Joker toyed with her doctor. He was truly interesting. He had an odd sense of humor, she could tell. He had probably even had a sick sense of humor before being locked up in Arkham. Something other than the make up and crime had to have landed in here.

"Come, Luna. I have some things I want to talk to you about," said Dr. Cowen. He placed his hand on Luna's shoulder.

The Joker looked at Luna, but spoke to the doctor. "I don't think Luna and I were finished, Doc," he said, licking his lips. "I think you should let us have our free time together before you drag her back to her white Hell."

Luna looked at the Joker, unable to look away. She felt special, knowing that the Joker was fighting to keep her outside. The two made eye contact and the Joker seemed to be reading her like a book. It was quite possible that he knew more about her in those short moments than the doctors at Arkham had gathered in four years. She felt Dr. Cowen's grip on her shoulder tighten. She felt herself being dragged up by the arms by two male nurses.

"You'll regret this, Doc," said the Joker, frowning up at Dr. Cowen and the two male nurses that held Luna. Then he looked at Luna once more. He gave her a wink and a small wave as she was led back into the building.


	3. Chapter 3

Wow, sorry I haven't updated in forever. I've just been preoccupied and totally forgot about updating the story. Thanks to a reminding review, I'm back and I promise I won't leave the story hanging. Don't forget to review!

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Inside, Luna was carried up to Dr. Cowen's office. She was sat in a chair across his desk and she watched as he rushed over to the other side, sitting in his chair. He leaned against the desk eagerly. "Luna, you've spoken! After four years of silence, you've finally decided to speak." he said excitedly.

Luna looked at her doctor with a blank expression. She felt no urge to talk to him.

Dr. Cowen's smile fell slightly. "Why don't you tell me what made you talk." he said, nodding.

Luna continued to look at him, not showing any sort of emotion.

Dr. Cowen sighed, rubbing his temples. "The Joker. He got you to talk. What did he say?" he asked.

Luna continued to stare at him, not uttering a word. She didn't know how much longer Dr. Cowen attempted to get her to talk, but it was a while, because she heard a cackle from the hallway.

"She won't talk to you!" came the Joker's playful voice as nurses pushed him toward his cell.

Luna was tempted to turn and look at the Joker with a smile, but she contained herself. She was not letting anyone else but him see her emotions. So she kept her gaze on her doctor.

Dr. Cowen looked at Luna pleadingly. "Luna, please. I'm only trying to help." he said. He had reduced himself to begging.

Luna simply continued to look at him blankly. She saw him raise a hand and look past her, toward the door. Then she felt gentle hands raise her from her seat and walk her to her cell.

"See you for lunch, Luna." came the voice of her male nurse.

Luna walked into her cell and didn't turn around until she heard him close and lock the door. Then she turned her body and looked out her window to the Joker's window. She didn't see him. Disappointment flashed through her eyes. But then she saw his figure stand from inside his cell and walk toward the window. She saw him flash a smile her way and she returned it.

The Joker breathed on the glass and wrote with his finger "how much". It faded, so he breathed on the glass once more, writing "longer do u". He repeated his process until Luna had read all of what he was asking: "how much longer do u expect to stay here?"

Luna gave a shrug in return and motioned to him with a question mark, asking the same question.

The Joker smiled wickedly. He breathed on the glass and wrote "2 days tops".

Luna nodded, not sure how she should react to this. She knew that he was going to break out of Arkham. How, she didn't know. But she did know that if he left her there alone, she would revert back to the lifeless thing she was before last night, yet somehow she knew he wouldn't leave her. Out of the corner of her eye, Luna saw a nurse walking down the hall. She looked back at the Joker and saw he had taken a few steps away from the window and he motioned for her to do the same. Luna stepped back. The nurse came no where near her or the Joker's cell, apparently, and disappeared from the hallway all together.

Luna looked at the Joker, seeing him smile at her. She smiled back, her cheeks getting a workout from so much smiling in such a short time. Then she saw the Joker's eyebrows knit and he looked down from her eyes to her door. Puzzled, Luna tried looking over the window. Then suddenly someone popped up from under the window, scaring her.

Luna screamed and stumbled back, tripping over her chains and falling down to the ground. She stared up at the ceiling, her eyesight growing fuzzy after having hit her head on the door. The last thing she heard or saw was a nurse opening the door and standing over her, a worried expression on his face. Then, everything faded and she was trapped in darkness.

Outside of cell 665, the Joker looked through his window at what had happened. A stupid male nurse had hidden under the window of her door and jumped up, hoping to stir up a reaction from Luna. He couldn't believe this man actually did something so...retarded! Unfortunately, he got a reaction that resulted in Luna's scream piercing the hallway and her body falling backwards.

The Joker watched as the nurse wrenched the door open and rushed to Luna's side. He looked concerned and checked her head for any injury. His body seemed to relax as he found no injuries, but what happened next surprised both the nurse and Joker.

Luna's body twitched and looked as if it was going through a siezure. Then movement stopped and she slowly sat up, cradling her head in her hands. The nurse touched her shoulder and looked like he was asking her a question. Luna flinched and her head shot up. Her eyes didn't look like the ones the Joker had seen before. These eyes were darker, more wild. She looked like she was stuggling with herself.

The Joker watched with interest as Luna stood up and glared down at the nurse. The nurse, though, seemed to know what to do in this situation. Apparently it had happened before. The nurse stood and walked around behind Luna, grabbing her and restraining her arms.

Luna struggled and kicked, trying to get out of the nurse's grip. She had a wild look in her eye. She was frantic. The Joker watched the unfolding event with interest. This was not the Luna he spoke with. She was calm and shy. This Luna was violent and resisted restraint. He smirked.

Luna thrashed in the nurse's arms trying to get free. She yelled and screamed, but not saying any coherent words. She looked like she was sobbing as her face twisted in agony and small, glistening drops of water dropped to the floor.

From down the hall, more nurses came to aid in restraining Luna. They uncuffed her hands and placed her, with much difficulty, into a straight jacket. This did not stop her thrashing, though. She just tried wiggling out of the jacket, still sobbing and yelling. Luna, for a split second, threw her head up and she made eye contact with the Joker. She ceased her movements when she looked at him, silent tears running down her face. The nurses were taken aback when she suddenly stopped and they looked at the Joker quizzically.

The Joker smirked. Luna recognized him even in her violent state. But then he frowned. For a moment, he saw something in her eyes that registered in anger. Towards him. But what had he done? The Joker thought about his past crimes. He had many victims, and left only a few alive and terribly scarred. But could Luna have been one of those? It was possible. Usually the only victims he left alive were women. It was fun to check up on them a few weeks or months after the incident and see how they were.

But as the Joker looked at Luna, he realized that the anger wasn't directed at him. Something must have happened to her that he had been around for. That he had watched and did nothing about. The Joker silently laughed to himself. He was really good at reading people. He could take the job of all of these wannabe psychologists if he wanted to. He returned his gaze to Luna and saw that she was looking at him still. Her eyes were no longer angry, but they instead looked hurt. Brown hair fell into her face as she stuggled with the grip of the nurses and she kept her stare on the Joker. Then suddenly her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she limply fell to the floor.

The Joker watched as the nurses lifted Luna and gently placed her on her cot. Then they walked out of her cell and for a moment, gave the Joker odd looks. He knew what they were thinking. Why had she reacted like that when she saw the Joker? He watched as the nurses leave, probably to go tell Dr. Cowen what had happened. He grinned wickedly. This was interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

Luna's eyes fluttered open and she looked at the ceiling of her white cell. She tried lifting her hands to her head but she couldn't. She looked down and saw she was wrapped in a straight jacket. She closed her eyes for a few moments and then opened them once more. She had apparently had another violent episode. She only ever woke up with the jacket on when that happened.

With a great amount of effort, Luna sat up in her cot. She blinked a few times, focusing her vision. Automatically she sensed something wasn't as it usually was. She turned her head and saw Dr. Cowen standing in her doorway. She then saw something move behind him. She looked over his shoulder and saw that the Joker was out of his cell, cuffed and chained. He was looking into her cell, grinning. Luna looked back at Dr. Cowen, not smiling or saying anything, even if the Joker was there.

Dr. Cowen stepped aside and a nurse pushed the Joker into the cell, strapping him to a seat. "I heard about what happened earlier, Luna," he said, looking at the young woman. "You had one of your violent personality changes," he said, knowing that Luna already knew this. "But there was something interesting that happened. Something you've never done in one of your episodes," he said.

Luna looked up at her doctor, waiting for him to continue. This interested her.

Dr. Cowen smiled inwardly, having gotten at least some sort of reaction out of her. "When you were thrashing around, and you saw the Joker, you stopped all movement. You just sat still, staring at him," he said, looking over at the Joker who sat smugly in the chair.

Luna looked at the Joker, who was looking at her. "It's true, doll face," he said, nodding.

The doctor cleared his throat. "I'm going to leave you two alone in the cell to talk. There will be nothing recording you, no one watching you. I just..want to see if talking to him might help you understand more about yourself," said Dr. Cowen. Then he gave Luna a small smile and the Joker a warning glare before he left the cell, closing the door behind him, but not locking it.

Luna looked at the Joker, tilting her head to the side. She smiled in amusement as he copied her. This seemed to be the way they always began their interaction.

"Remember anything, Luna?" asked the Joker.

Luna shook her head. "I remember...screaming and then falling. And the nurse. And then..that's it," she said softly.

The Joker smirked. "You put on quite a show. Thrashing everywhere and giving those nurses a hard time," he said, looking around her cell. Then his eyes met her's. "And then you stopped and stared at little old me."

Luna's eyebrows drew together and she frowned. "Why would..I do that?" she asked, mainly herself.

The Joker shrugged, slouching in his chair. "You looked angry with me for a while. And then hurt...like you had been betrayed," he said, keeping his eyes on her.

Luna looked down at the floor. Why would she react that way with the Joker? Was he connected to her past? Did her other personality recognize him from the incedent that landed her in Arkham in the first place? She looked up at the Joker who was in turn looking at her with interest.

"It seems you only change if you hit your head hard enough," he stated, smirking at her.

Luna looked at the Joker skeptically. "So I've been told..." she said, hearing the same thing from her doctor and nurses.

The Joker grinned, his eyes glinting evilly. "This is going to hurt me a lot more than it's going to hurt you," he said, standing from the chair. He had somehow broken free from the straps that held him to the chair. "No..no, it'll probably hurt you more," he cackled, lifting his hands and hitting Luna over the head with all his strength.

Luna yelped and fell to the floor, her head hitting the floor in the same place the Joker had hit her. Her eyes filled with tears of pain as she looked up at the Joker. He stood over her, grinning. Then her eyesight became unfocused and the last thing she saw was the Joker nodding in approval.

The Joker smirked as he watched Luna lose consciousness. His smirk widened as he saw her twitch and thrash for a few moments on the floor. He grinned as she sat up and groaned, bowing her head down. She then looked around the cell frantically. Her eyes were wild once more, wild and confused. This made the Joker smile.

"Luna" looked around the cell in alarm. She then looked up and saw the Joker, freezing for some unknown reason. She slowly stood up and stood before the Joker, glaring at him. But her glare softened and turned to a hurt gaze. She took a step toward him, shaking her head slowly. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at him.

The Joker watched Luna closely. She was not violent. She just didn't like being restrained. He looked into her eyes and saw she recognized him from somewhere. "Luna," he said.

Luna flinched as she heard him say her name. "Jack," she said.

This took the Joker by surprise. Jack? He hadn't heard himself called 'Jack' since...the Joker stopped his thinking. Jack was the name he had used when he was working and doing small jobs for mobsters around Gotham. Jack was the name he disposed of when he received the hideous scars on his face.

Luna's tears began to spill from her eyes. "You _were_ there!" she yelled in agony. She struggled, trying to get out of her straight jacket. "Why didn't you do something!"

The Joker frowned, not saying anything. He was thinking back to his days as Jack, wondering if he was ever around for a crime against this young woman. He thought long and hard, pushing the sounds of Luna's sobbing out of his mind. He remembered standing by in a warehouse as his old boss tortured an older woman and young boy. He remembered the blood chilling scream that came from a young girl when she entered the warehouse. He remembered the whole thing.

_Jack stood in the corner of a dark, empty room, watching as his boss "took care of business". He was watching this man torture a woman and boy to death. He watched as they were beat to pulps, sliced with knives, and burned with ends of cigarettes. It still wasn't all normal to him, but this is what he made a living off of, and he couldn't show his uneasiness. This was the same thing that had happened to his family, and he kept that much a secret while he watched these tortures. Weakness would only kill him in this line of work._

_A new scream filled the room and Jack looked up to see that a young girl had walked in through the door he was supposed to be watching. She was looking at the two bodies in horror. Tears streamed down her face as she let out more yells and cries._

_Jack's boss turned away from his victims and glared at him. "You were supposed to watch the door!" he yelled, walking over to Jack. He pulled out a knife from his pocket._

_Jack took a step away from his boss. "How was I supposed to know someone would come in?" he spat, sending a glare in the direction of the young girl. At any other time, he would have considered her beautiful. But now her face was twisted in agony and rage as she was held back by some thugs._

_"That ain't the point, Jack! She got in! Now ya know what I'm gonna do?" asked the boss._

_Jack smiled wickedly, completely confident that he would be able to get away without a scratch on him. "What?" he mocked._

_The boss smirked. "You like smiling, Jack?" he asked viciously. "I'll make sure you're smilin' til the day you die!" he shouted._

_Suddenly a pair of arms grabbed Jack from behind and held him securely. One of the boss's thugs. Jack struggled frantically to get away as his boss came closer and closer to him, with the knife twirling in his hands. The smile on his face was sadistic. It looked like he'd enjoy causing Jack pain._

_The boss smirked as he closed the distance between him and Jack. "Why so serious?" he asked. He laughed. "Let's put a smile on that face!" he yelled, grabbing Jack's face. He stuck the blade in his mouth and smirked. "Now you'll always be smiling, Jacky my boy. Always," he hissed. Then he let loose, the blade slicing through both of Jack's cheeks._

_Jack yelled in pain and struggled to get out of the man's grip. He was released and he fell to the floor, clutching his bleeding face. A female's scream was heard as this had happened to him. He looked up to see the young girl looking at him, and the woman and boy. She was horror struck, looking at the three bloody messes. Jack was going to yell at her, to tell her to run, but his mouth hurt too much and he was too late anyway. The boss had grabbed her by the arm and began dragging her screaming body outside. Someone grabbed Jack's hair and dragged him out as well._

_"You're gonna watch this, Jack! And then I'm gonna kill ya!" said the boss as he threw the girl down on the ground._

_She cired and stayed in a fetal position on the floor. Jack wanted to yell at her once more. To tell her to get up and make a run for it, but the gashes on his face wouldn't let him._

_The boss cakcled and kicked the girl repeatedly in the stomach, the ribs, and the face. He bent down and stabbed her in multiple places with a knife. Everything he did caused her to scream in more pain. It only made him smile. "Little bitch. You'll go the same way your mom and brother went!" the boss spat. He picked her up and threw her against a dumpster, the side of her head making contact with the corner. She cried out in pain and fell to the floor, her head now bleeding profusely. She looked up at Jack through her tears, pleading for help._

_Jack looked at her and felt himself be released. He fell to the floor and struggled to bring himself up as a thug kicked him once on the ribs. He coughed and sat up, looking at the girl once more. She was pleading with him silently, begging him for help. But all he could do was watch as his boss tortured her more._

_"Come on, boys. She'll die from blood loss. Let's leave 'er here," said the boss, turning away from the girl's tangled body._

_Jack saw that the girl's eyes were struggling to stay open, but the pain and lack of blood was too much. Her eyes closed and she passed out. Jack looked up at his boss, glaring up at him. "You bastard," he managed to say. His cheeks screamed in protest._

_The boss laughed maliciously. "What are ya gonna do, Jack? Kill me? Haha, I think not," he said, cockily._

_Jack smiled wickedly, ignoring the immense pain that came from his cheeks. "Yeah. That's exactly what I'm gonna do," he said. He grabbed the lid of a near by trash can and hit the thug that was coming toward him, knocking him out. He then ran at his boss, hitting him with the lid and making him drop the knife. Jack quickly picked it up and pushed his boss down on the floor, planting his foot on his neck. He grinned as he saw the terror in his boss's eyes. "Why so serious?" he asked. "Let's put a smile on that face!" he exclaimed, using the same words he had been told. Then he crouched down and carved a smile onto his boss's face just as it was done to him. Then he pulled back the knife and stabbed him in the chest, aiming and puncturing the heart. He twisted the knife, causing the man under him to scream and thrash around under him. This made Jack smile. He continued to make stab wounds in the man's body until he stopped moving completely. Then he made his way to the thug that was still unconscious a few feet away, repeating the process._

_Jack stood in the alley panting heavily and admiring the bloody mess he made. "You carved my face. I look like a clown," he spat on his boss's dead body. "Now I'm always smiling," he said. "Now I'll always see the funny side of things," he cackled. "Just call me...Joker!" he exclaimed, letting out a howl of malicious laughter. Then he grabbed the two bodies and dragged them off, out of the alley. He took one look at the girl who was still passed out on the ground. There was a tug at his insides that compelled him to call police. So he used his boss's cell phone to dial 911 and say that there was a badly beaten young girl in an alley. He hung up before any questions could be asked and he disappeared into the night, disposing of the two corpses._

The Joker looked at Luna's hurt eyes. "I took care of them. Don't you worry about that," he said, smirking.

Luna's eyes became puzzled and before she knew what had happened, she fell back onto her cot and lost consciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

Luna woke up in her cot, blinking a few times and looking up at the ceiling of her cell. She tried moving, but she noticed she was in her straight jacket. Still. Slowly, she saw up and shook her head slighly. There was a throbbing sensation where her scar was and it gave her a terrible headache. She shut her eyes tightly and then slowly opened them, looking around her cell. No one was in it. The lights were off. This was strange.

Luna stood up and walked to her door. When she looked into the hallway, she saw no one walking around. The lights were dimmed. It seemed like it was the middle of the night. But how could that be? It was the middle of the day...or at least that was the time she remembered it being.

Luna frowned and looked across the hall, to the Joker's cell. She didn't see him at his window like he usually was. Then she froze. The Joker. She remembered him hitting her over the head. She remembered waking up and crying in front of him. She remembered calling him 'Jack.' She remembered hearing him say he "took care of them."

Luna looked into the Joker's window. She could vaguely see his body on his cot, lying down. It seemed to her that he was sleeping. She sighed and went over to her cot, sitting down on it. She stared at the floor and frowned. She remembered that. It had been one of her so called "violent episodes." But she wasn't violent. Not that she could recall. She was just terribly upset.

She heaved a sigh and turned her body so she could lay in her cot. There would be nothing for her to do at the moment. No one was awake. So she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

_Luna ran through the darkened streets of Gotham toward an old, abandoned warehouse. She ran as fast as she could, her heart beating about 600 beats per minute. Her mother and brother had been snatched from right next to her. And she had seen a large white van speed off in this direction. She was running after it, trying to get her family back._

_Soon, Luna could see the white van parked around the side of the warehouse. Her heart sped up as she neared the warehouse. Her mother and brother were inside. She knew it._

_There was a scream. High-pitched. Femenine. It was her mother. Another scream followed. It too was high-pitched, but held a bit more masculinity. It was her younger brother._

_Luna burst through the door to the warehouse and stopped dead in her tracks when she looked inside. It was a dark room, void of furniture. The only things inside were a couple of men and two bloody bodies on the floor. Luna let out a blood chilling scream as she saw the bodies of her mother and brother, badly beaten and bloody, lying in a heap of limbs on the floor. Tears immediately poured down her face and she began to sob. She hadn't realized that she had been restrained by two large men._

_The man who had done the torturing turned away from his victims and glared at a younger man. "You were supposed to watch the door!" he yelled, walking over to him. He pulled out a knife from his pocket._

_The young man took a step away from his boss. "How was I supposed to know someone would come in?" he spat, sending a glare in the direction of Luna. Luna had seen this out of the corner of her eyes, but she was in too much pain to comprehend anything. She was sobbing and trying to get to her family's bodies._

_"That ain't the point, Jack! She got in! Now ya know what I'm gonna do?" asked the boss._

_The young man smiled wickedly, seeming completely confident that he would be able to get away without a scratch on him. "What?" he mocked._

_The boss smirked. "You like smiling, Jack?" he asked viciously. "I'll make sure you're smilin' til the day you die!" he shouted._

_Luna watched as suddenly a pair of arms grabbed Jack from behind and held him securely. One of the boss's thugs. Jack struggled frantically to get away as his boss came closer and closer to him, with the knife twirling in his hands. The smile on his face was sadistic. It looked like he'd enjoy causing Jack pain._

_The boss smirked as he closed the distance between him and Jack. "Why so serious?" he asked. He laughed. "Let's put a smile on that face!" he yelled, grabbing Jack's face. He stuck the blade in his mouth and smirked. "Now you'll always be smiling, Jacky my boy. Always," he hissed. Then he let loose, the blade slicing through both of Jack's cheeks._

_Jack yelled in pain and struggled to get out of the man's grip. He was released and he fell to the floor, clutching his bleeding face. Luna let out a scream of her own as she saw the man slice Jack's cheeks. She was looking at the three bloodied bodies, horror struck. How could any man do this? Then the boss had grabbed her by the arm and began dragging her screaming body outside._

_"You're gonna watch this, Jack! And then I'm gonna kill ya!" said the boss as he threw Luna down on the ground._

_She cired and stayed in a fetal position on the floor, hoping that she would have a better chance of staying unharmed if she stayed down. She sobbed on the floor, wishing to be killed quickly. She was already in enough emotional pain._

_The boss cakcled and kicked Luna repeatedly in the stomach, the ribs, and the face. He bent down and stabbed her in multiple places with a knife. Everything he did caused her to scream in more pain. It only made him smile. "Little bitch. You'll go the same way your mom and brother went!" the boss spat. He picked her up and threw her against a dumpster, the side of her head making contact with the corner. She cried out in pain and fell to the floor, her head now bleeding profusely. She looked up at Jack through her tears, pleading for help._

_Jack looked at her and Luna saw that he was released from the thug's grip. He fell to the floor and struggled to bring himself up as a thug kicked him once on the ribs. He coughed and sat up, looking at Luna once more. She was pleading with him silently, begging him for help. How could he just sit there and not try to help her?_

_"Come on, boys. She'll die from blood loss. Let's leave 'er here," said the boss, turning away from Luna's tangled body._

_Luna's eyes were struggling to stay open, but the pain and lack of blood was too much. She sent one last pleading look to Jack and her eyes closed. She passed out._

Luna awoke in a cold sweat, her eyes darting all over her cell. She shot up, noticing that she was free from the straight jacket. She looked around and saw her doctor standing in the doorway. He was looking at her, concerned and slightly excited at the same time.

"Luna. Thank god you're awake. I thought you'd never come out of that nightmare," he said, rushing in and kneeling by her cot.

Luna looked at him, not saying anything. She couldn't even bring herself to summon the courage to utter a single syllable.

Dr. Cowen looked up into her eyes. "You were screaming, Luna. Screaming bloody murder. What were you dreaming about?" he asked.

Luna looked away from him, closing her eyes. Then she reopened them and saw the Joker standing at his window, looking at her with what looked like concern. She tilted her head to the side, and he did the same. Luna, completely ignoring her doctor, stood from her cot and walked over to the Joker's cell. She placed her hand on the window, looking at him still. She saw the Joker lift his hand and place his on the window with her's.

Dr. Cowen watched this in amazement. The two were connected through Luna's mysterious past. This much he gathered. Quickly, he stood and gently moved Luna aside, unlocking and opening the Joker's door.

Luna waited until it was completely open until she took her place directly in front of him. "You...took care of them?" she asked softly, not caring if the doctor heard her speak.

The Joker's face remained still, but he nodded. "All of them," he said, reassuringly.

Luna looked like she was about to cry. Her eyes welled with tears and she looked at the Joker and saw her suffering in his eyes. Whether it was because she could see past his macho, mocking facade or he was letting her into his pained soul, Luna didn't care. She studied him closely, her bottom lip trembling. She would burst into tears at any moment. She wasn't sure, though, if they would be tears of relief, sadness, or happiness. She thought of relief because she knew now that the scumbags that had killed her family were dead too. Sadness because she now remembered everything that had happened. And happiness because she was looking at the man who took her revenge on her family's murderer.

Suddenly it was all too much for Luna and she burst into tears, sinking to the floor and crying. Her body shook with loud sobs and she cradled herself, not knowing what else to do. She felt someone's hand on her shoulder but did nothing about it. She didn't even lift her head to see who it was.

"Luna, sweet heart...Luna," she heard the voice of Dr. Cowen.

Luna tore away from her doctor, not wanting to be near him. She didn't want to be in Arkham anymore. She knew what had happened. So what if she didn't want to talk about it? They would keep her there until she finally did. Then she felt someone's body crouch down to her level and she saw bent, orange knees in front of her. She raised her head slightly and saw the Joker's face in front of her's. He was looking at her comfortingly, and she couldn't understand why.

The Joker leaned his face closer to her's and whispered into her ear. "I'll get you out of here," he said, giving her a small kiss on the ear.

Luna gave him a shaky smile but it didn't stop her tears from falling. She nodded at him and watched as he stood up, walking back to his cell, bumping into Dr. Cowen and pushing him out of the way.

"Come on, Luna," said Dr. Cowen softly, extending his hand to Luna.

Luna shook her head and stood up on her own, dashing back into her cell with her back remaining to the doctor. She refused to look at him, speak to him, or tolerate his presense. She heard him sigh and close her cell door, locking it. After a few minutes, when she was sure that Dr. Cowen had left, she turned around and saw the Joker at his window, smiling at her.

She smiled back at him, her tears slowing and her sobs quieting. Now she was down to sniffling and one or two tears leaking from her eyes. And then finally it all stopped. And that's where she stayed until night fall, in her cell, occassionally standing and smiling at the Joker.


	6. Chapter 6

I know that there are several things wrong with this story, but it's old and you'll have to excuse some of the lacking details. Heh. If i find the time, I'll probably end up rewriting the entire thing to make it longer and more...cohesive? I guess. Because it's all written up, it's just a matter of me uploading the documents from my computer. Well yeah. Go on and enjoy the show!

* * *

When nightfall did finally come around, Luna had been lying in her cot, looking up at the ceiling. She had barely noticed when the lights went out in her cell. But after about an hour of lying in silence, a noise was heard outside her cell. She sat up, curiously and looked at her door. Another noise was heard. Was she the only one that heard it?

Slowly, Luna stood up and peeked through her window. She saw the Joker's cell was wide open and he was walking out. This made Luna's heart skip a beat. He was escaping. She was about to turn and pretend she hadn't seen anything when she made eye-contact with the Joker. She saw him give her a smile and walk toward her door.

Luna watched as he got closer and then stopped right outside. How was he going to get the cell open? It was locked. Click. Luna looked at the Joker quizzically and heard her lock open. She saw the door open slowly and saw the Joker standing before her with a triumphant smile on his face.

"How did you...?" she was about to ask how he had opened the door. She saw the Joker hold up a credit card and a pocket knife. "Where did you...?" she was going to ask where he got the items but then she realized he had taken them from Dr. Cowen when he had bumped into him. Luna looked at him in slight shock and appreciation. "Good job..." she commented his pickpocketing skills.

The Joker grinned and thrust his hand out, grabbing Luna's hand cuffs. He pulled her close to him and he pressed a hard kiss to her lips. When he pulled away from a dumbstruck Luna, he laughed. "Come on, Doll. We're outa here!" he exclaimed, running down the hall with Luna, almost causing her to trip over the chains around her ankles.

The Joker stopped at an office that belonged to one of the doctors. He had apparently freed himself of his ankle chains in his cell, Luna noticed, as he lifted one of his legs and kicked the door down. He rushed inside, going through all the drawers of the doctor's desk. He finally found what he was looking for; a gun. He smirked and kicked over the desk for the hell of it before walking out of the office and grabbing Luna's cuffs once more.

Luna struggled to keep up with the Joker as he ran. Her ankle chains were proving to make a run for it difficult. But she did the best she could, and for the most part didn't slow the Joker down too much.

When the pair reached the bottom floor of the asylum, a few nurses and receptionists were still there, working their night shifts. They all screamed in alarm as the Joker and Luna ran into the room.

"No one try and stop us, and I promise I won't kill all of you," the Joker snarled, pointing the gun at the nurses and receptionists. He saw out of the corner of his eye one of the receptionists pick up a phone. In no time at all, he turned the gun on her and shot her.

Luna yelped as the bang of the gun rang through her ears and she saw the receptionist fall to the ground. Her eyes widened in horror and she turned to look at the Joker. He didn't seem at all affected by killing someone. She felt herself being pulled along by the Joker toward the exit of the building.

"Any of you want to make the same mistake she did?" shouted the Joker, nodding over to the dead receptionist. He grinned with satisfaction as everyone shook their heads. "Good," he said, reaching the door to the asylum. "And just so I know you won't do anything too stupid..." he said, trailing off. He aimed the gun at the only male nurse there, who looked like he was going to run for the emergency button. His finger pulled the trigger and the male nurse didn't even have time to scream. He was shot right between the eyes and he fell to the floor.

Luna cried out in horror as she saw him fall, blood pouring from the bullet hole. Images of the bloody bodies of her brother and mother filled her mind. She barely noticed that the Joker had pulled her out of Arkham and into an armored van. She vaguely felt him shove her in the passenger's seat and put a seatbelt on her. She only came back to reality when his door slammed shut and the engine roared to life.

"Hang on, Doll! It's gonna be a bumpy ride," he laughed, peeling out onto the street at high speeds. He let out a howl of laugher as he swerved through the dark streets of Gotham.

Luna held onto the seat for dear life as the Joker drove crazily down the street, but she had begun to cry. Her sobs caught the attention of the Joker and he looked away from the road and over to Luna, tilting his head to the side.

"What's with the crocodile tears, Luna?" he asked.

Luna looked over at him, not caring that he was swerving carelessly through the streets. "You killed those people!" she exclaimed.

The Joker laughed and turned his attention back to driving. "I _know_ that, Doll!"

"Why? Why would you do it?" she asked, tears still falling.

The Joker shrugged. "If I hadn't, we wouldn't be out here right now," he said as-a-matter-of-factly.

Luna shook her head. "They were just doing their jobs. You didn't have to kill them," she argued.

The Joker turned his attention to her once more. "Yeah, and the scum that killed your family was just doing his job. But I killed him, too. Should I have kept him alive, just because he was 'doing his job'?" he snapped, glaring at her.

Luna remained silent. She turned away from him and glared at the road zooming by. If she were to say that this wasn't the same thing, he'd just yell that it was. They were just doing their jobs. She scowled, knowing he won this argument. Apparently, he knew he won as well and he chuckled when he left her speechless. Suddenly, Luna was thrown into the passenger door as the Joker took a sharp turn to the left. She hissed in pain as her head hit the window.

"Oh I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" the Joker cackled.

Luna frowned, touching her head gingerly. In the asylum, the Joker wasn't as vicious. He had his level of sadistic humor, yes, but he hadn't acted that way toward her. Now he let loose all of what he was probably containing while in the asylum. It relieved Luna, though, that the Joker was not going to continue hiding who he really was. At least now she knew what he was capable of.

"We're here, Doll Face," the Joker announced proudly as he parked in front of an old warehouse.

Luna looked out the windshield and swallowed a lump in her throat. It was so much like the warehouse that her family was murdered in. She knew, though, that it was not the same place. That particular warehouse was closer to Arkham Asylum than this one. So as steadily as she could, Luna unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her door. The Joker was on her side already, waiting for her to step down.

"Watch your step," the Joker warned withe a small, evil smile.

It was, of course, too late to watch. Luna had thought there was a small step that she could set her foot on while she climbed out of the car, but there wasn't. She yelped and fell to the ground, landing on her ankle. Wincing in pain, she felt herself being pulled up by the arm. She looked up and saw the Joker grinning down at her.

"Warned ya," he snickered, yanking her up fully.

Luna stood, yanking her arm away from the Joker. She sent him a nasty look and then turned, looking at the warehouse. "So this is you humble abode?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

The Joker returned her nasty look and began walking toward the warehouse. "Yeah. Got a problem with that, Doll?" he asked, turning to look at her while twisting the gun in his hand.

Luna eyed the gun cautiously. "No," she responded, limping after him.

When the two entered the warehouse, the interior was not what Luna had expected. She was prepared to see dark hallways, mold, destroyed walls and floors. Instead, she saw a clean black and white tiled floor. The doors, that were at different intervals along the walls, were each a different color. Admiring the abstract, yet modern, look of the warehouse, Luna was unaware of where the Joker lead her. When she finally decided to pay attention, she noticed that the Joker had led her into a hallway that had a green door at the very end.

"And now...my room," the Joker said, smirking at Luna when he swung open and let her step inside.


	7. Chapter 7

Luna raised her eyebrows when she stepped into the Joker's room. It wasn't as classy as the hallway outside. Instead, it was a dark room. The walls looked like they were a dark forest green color, and the floor seemed to be just plain concrete, with the exception of a large, violet area rug in the center. There was a queen sized bed on the area rug, draped in black sheets and pillows. To the left was a wooden night stand that looked badly beaten up, as if the Joker found it on the side of the road. There was a bright red couch against the right wall, but it wasn't in good condition either. Stuffing was seeping out of a few slashes in the cushions and there were dark stains randomly located around the cushions, most of them near the slashes. On the opposite end of the room was a beat up desk covered with papers, knives, guns, and markers.

"Charming..." Luna muttered. She saw the Joker walk into the room after her and head straight to a closet that she had overlooked in her observation. He disappeared in the closet and shuffling was heard. Then he emerged once more in a purple suit and green vest. He closed the closet and walked toward Luna, pulling pruple leather gloves over his hands.

"You need a change of wardrobe, Toots," he said, looking at her with a smirk. Then he walked out of the room and into a near-by door that was painted black with pink polkadots.

Luna followed him and saw it was another bedroom, but all it had was a mattress draped in black sheets and a closet door in the corner. She noticed the Joker was standing by the closet door, having opened it and motioned for Luna to go to it. Luna limped to the closet, her ankle still sending shots of pain through her leg, and looked inside. A large variety of women's clothing was hanging before her, complete with shoes. She entered fully and gazed at all the articles of clothing. She hadn't worn anything but the asylum uniform in four years. She wasn't sure what she would be comfortable wearing.

So Luna began sifting through the clothes, forgetting the Joker was standing at the closet door, watching her in amusement. She picked out some dressed and held them over herself, testing to see if she'd like how it looked. So far, she only liked one. It was a short, purple spaghetti strap baby doll dress that cut off about four inches above her knees. She turned and handed that to the Joker absentmindedly as she continued searching through the clothes. She had chosen that dress and was no looking for shoes and stockings that went well with it. Finally she chose on a pair of black and green striped stockings and a pair of purple flats to match her dress.

She walked over to the Joker and took her dress from his arms, and then stared at him, making him raise his eyebrows. She said nothing, but continued to stare.

The Joker squinted his eyes at her. "I know you aren't reverting back to Akham Luna," he said, giving her past, silent self a name.

Luna shook her head, but found it amusing that she was behaving just as she had in that terrible asylum. "Leave," she said simply.

The Joker's eyebrows shot up and he smiled viciously. "Leave?" he asked, stepping toward her.

Luna held her ground. The Joker had not scared her in Arkham and he didn't scare her now. "Yes. I need to change," she said, crossing her arms.

The Joker stopped and glared at her. "This is my warehouse, Doll," he said threatengingly, but he turned and walked out of the closet anyway, slamming the door shut and leaving Luna in the darkness.

Quickly, Luna removed the orange jumpsuit and pulled on her dress. She would leave the stockings and shoes for when she exited the closet. So once the dress was on, she walked to the door and tried opening it. She couldn't get it open. "Joker...open the door," she said softly, closing her eyes and then reopening them, adjusting her vision to the darkness.

The Joker cackled from outside the closet door. "Why should I?" he asked.

"Because I'm done," she replied.

"And?" came his playful response.

Luna glared at the door. "Joker, open the door or I'll...I'll..." she trailed off, trying to think of something.

"Or you'll what?" The Joker laughed. He heard nothing but silence from inside the closet. "What are ya gonna do from in there?" he asked. "Nothing!" he chuckled. Still, he heard nothing from Luna. He frowned. He didn't like being ignored. So he turned and opened the closet door, about to yell at Luna but he did not find her in the closet. His eyebrows furrowed and he stepped into the closet, looking in to see if she was hiding within the clothes. "Luuuunaaaa. You can't hide from me in here." he said tauntingly.

"I'm not trying to," came Luna's voice from behind him.

The Joker spun around but instead of seeing Luna, his face collided with the door of the closet. She had slipped passed him and trapped him in the closet. "Hah," he heard her laugh from the other side. He smirked and pulled something from out of his purple suit. "Oh dear. I seem to be trapped in here," he said, trying to open the door. It wouldn't open. "Whatever shall I do?" he asked wickedly, his lips turning up into a smile. He held his hand out in front of him and cocked a gun that was in his grip. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger and a large whole was shot through the door just enough for him to see out of.

Luna yelped, the bullet barely missing her ear. She immediately tore away from the door and stood on the other side of the room with the bed between her and the closet. She heard the Joker laugh evilly from in the closet and saw the door swing open, revealing the Joker standing there with a gun in his hand.

"That wasn't nice, Luna," he said, his evil smile visible.

Luna gripped her stockings and shoes as she watched the Joker exit the closet. He casually walked over to her, putting his gun away and pulling out a knife to replace it. This made Luna a little more on edge. With a knife, he could do all sorts of things to her, and not put her in danger of dying.

"Scared, Luna?" the Joker asked, standing right in front of her now.

Luna looked up at him silently. She wasn't going to let him see her uneasiness.

"I asked you a question. And I want an answer," he said calmly, playing with the knife in his hands. He looked at her, seeing her remain silent. This angered him. "You are NOT Arkham Luna anymore, got it! So give me a fucking answer!" the Joker shouted, gripping Luna's face in his free hand and holding the knife close to her skin.

Luna shook and tears filled her eyes. She was seeing the Joker for what he really was, and she was beginning to fear him. "Yes," she said softly, knowing that if she lied and said no, the Joker would be upset and do something to make her fear him.

The Joker smiled wickedly and released her face, patting her cheek and then pulling her into a tight hug. "Ahh, little Luna. Don't be afraid," he said. Then he burst into laughter. "Be very afraid!" he squealed. Then he pulled away from her and yanked her from the wall and onto the bed. He grinned and leaned over to her, looking at her bare legs and then her eyes. "Finish up. We've got a job to do," he said. Then he straightened himself up and walked out of the room.

Luna sat up and rubbed her face. It was rather sore from the grip he had on her. Then she leaned down and pulled on the stockings and flats. Without wasting any more time, she walked out of the room in search of the Joker, but that didn't take very long at all. The second she walked out, the Joker grabbed her hair and pulled her to a stop.

"Ah, ah, ah. First things first...initiation," he whispered in her ear. He Held up her hair and Luna heard him flick out his knife. Then she felt a sharp pain on the back of her neck and back, making her wince. The pain continued for a few moments and then it stopped, leaving only a stinging and throbbing sensation in that area. The Joker let out a pleased laugh and put the knife back in his pocket.

"What did you do?" Luna asked when he let go of her hair and walked in front of her. The hair falling on that area made her hiss in pain. It was insanely sensitive.

The Joker turned and smiled at her. "Oh you know...carved you a little reminder of who you work for now," he cackled.

Luna lifted her hand and felt the back of her neck, ignoring the pain that her fingers ignited. She traced over the cuts the knife made and felt it to make a 'J.' She dropped her hand and stared at the Joker. She was his property now. But the one thing that she questioned was: did she like it?


	8. Chapter 8

The Joker had wasted no time in dragging Luna back into the van after he had carved his 'J' into her neck. But before he started the engine, he looked at Luna, tilting his head to the side. He watched her as she tied her hair up in a messy bun so it wouldn't interact with her fresh wound. She looked so innocent dressed in that outfit. It made him smirk. The innocent looking criminals were usually the most dangerous, so her picking such a childish outfit said a lot about who she could be as a criminal.

Luna noticed the Joker staring at her and she turned her head to look at him. He seemed to be taking in her appearance and thinking of something that amused him because his lips twitched into a smirk. "Are you going to oggle me all night or do you need to ask me something?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

The Joker looked into Luna's eyes and smiled evilly. "You have a much looser tongue now, Luna. You might want to control it a little better," he said, hinting at possible tortures that could come if she spoke too rudely to him.

Luna remained silent and continued to look at him, waiting for him to either turn away to drive or say something.

The Joker thought for a moment and then got out of the van. He walked over to Luna's side and yanked the door open. Roughly, he reached in and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the seat and dragging her back into the warehouse. He pushed her into a bathroom behind a yellow door and sat her down on the lid of the toilet. "Sit tight. I won't take too long," he said, pulling out some make-up from behind the mirror over the sink.

Luna watched as he pulled out tubes of white, black, pink, blue, and red make-up. The only thing that came to mind was the Joker painting her face up like his. She was indeed right about that as he began smearing white make-up all over her face, spreading it evenly. Then she saw him take the black and put some only on her eyelids and not all around the eye like his. He then dabbed some red on his index finger and poked each cheek once, so that about an inch under her eyes were small red dots. He stuffed the other colors back behind the mirror and pulled out black and red lipsticks. On her upper lip he applied black and on the bottom he applied red.

"Tada!" he cheered, shoving the lipsticks with the rest of the make-up. He shut the mirror and dragged Luna up to look at herself. "Aren't I talented?" he cackled.

Luna looked at herself with raised eyebrows. She had to admit, the Joker had a way with make-up. She giggled silently as she thought about the Joker working at a department store, beautifying women.

"What are you laughing at?" he snapped.

Luna immediately ceased her giggles and shook her head. "Oh nothing," she replied hastily. But then she smiled. "I like it," she said, nodding toward her appearance.

The Joker ginned triumphantly and then dragged her out of the warehouse once more and throwing her into the van. This time, he started the engine immediately when he entered the van and sped out onto the road toward Gotham.

Elsewhere...

"Commissioner Gordon! We just received word that the Joker has escaped from Arkham Asylum!" someone yelled.

Commissioner Jim Gordon looked up from his desk and scowled. "Any casualties?" he asked, not bothering to know how he had escaped.

The young detective that had brought him the bad news cleared his throat. "Yes sir. Two nurses dead. And one missing patient," he declared.

"Who's the missing patient?" Gordon asked, pulling out his files on the Joker.

"A Ms. Luna Vale. It's said that four years ago she was delivered to Arkham by us, sir," the detective stated, looking at the papers that he had jotted notes down on.

Gordon's eyes squinted. He was one of the officers who found Luna Vale in the alley those four years ago. He had been informed when she was in a coma and when she finally awoke. He was ready to ask her questions about the incident but it had appeared that she lost some of her memory, and he couldn't get any answers from her. Not only that, but she wouldn't speak to anyone.

"Any particular reason why the Joker chose her?" he asked, standing from behind his desk and walking toward the window in his office that over looked the dark city.

The detective cleared his throat and began reading what he had written. "The doctors said that the Joker had gotten Ms. Vale to speak to only him after four years of silence. And her doctor, Dr. Cowen, told us that the two might have had a shared past."

Gordon nodded, staring out at the city. It was dark and he knew he had to call for the city's protector. "Alright," he said finally, leaving his office and leaving the detective standing there, unsure of what to do next.

Gordon walked up the stairs and onto the roof of the Gotham City Police Department. He walked over to the spot light and flicked it on, the beam of light shooting up and throwing a blurry image of a bat into the cloudy night sky. He waited for a few moments, just staring out at the buildings.

"You called," came a deep, raspy voice from behind him.

Gordon turned around and saw the tall, dark figure. The Batman. He was the city's vigilante protector against crime. "Yes. It seems the Joker has escaped Arkham Asylum," he said, stroking his mustache. "Two dead, and a patient missing."

"Who's the patient?" he asked.

"Luna Vale. Four year patient at Arkham," Gordon replied.

The Batman stood silent for a few moments. "Any clues as to where he was headed?" he asked.

Gordon shook his head. "That's all we know," he stated.

The Batman nodded and turned away from him, disappearing into the night. He had to find the Joker before he harmed citizens or Luna Vale.


	9. Chapter 9

The Joker laughed insanely as he sped through the streets of Gotham. There were not many cars on the road, but the few that were weren't at all happy that this maniac was dangerously maneuvering through them. Cars would honk rudely, trying to get him to slow down, but this only encouraged him to drive faster. "Hahaha! I love this job!" he cried, swerving through the light traffic.

Luna held onto whatever she could to keep herself from slamming into the windshield and dashboard. His driving terrified her more than he himself did, because while he was driving, he could care less if the vehicle flipped over and killed them both. "Are we there yet?" she squeaked, shutting her eyes as the van sped up behind a large semi-truck. She held her breath, waiting for impact, but instead felt the van swerve to the left.

The Joker laughed hysterically. "Aw what's the matter? Don't like my driving?" he exclaimed, narrowly dodging another car.

Luna kept her eyes shut, unable to watch the road any longer for fear she'd have a heart attack. "I HATE your driving!" she yelled over his laughing and the roar of the engine.

Suddenly, the Joker slammed his foot on the breaks and the van skidded to a halt, causing Luna to lurch forward and hit her head against the dashboard. She groaned and sat up straight, holding her head. She rubbed her forehead gingerly and turned to face the Joker, who was laughing uncontrollably. "Think that's funny?" she asked, a smirk making its way to her face.

"HILARIOUS!" the Joker cried, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes.

Luna reached over and grabbed the Joker by the hair, suddenly slamming his face into the steering wheel. She released his greasy hair and smirked at him. "Ha ha," she mocked. She heard the Joker groan and saw him sit up, sending a malicious glare to her. Her eyes widened and she wrenched the door open before the Joker could reach over and grab her. She jumped down and ran up the steps to a building, laughing childishly.

The Joker sat in the van smirking at Luna. She was turning out just like he wanted. She was laughing at the face of danger. She was toying with chaos. "Luna, my dear. You are something else," he said to himself, kicking his door open and walking up to where she was.

Luna looked up and tilted her head to the side. They were in front of a jewelry store. "Why are we here?" she asked, turning to face the Joker.

He smiled and pulled out a gun, shooting the glass doors of the store and walking in. "To get you a little something, my dear," he said, walking toward the back of the store.

Luna walked into the store nervously, aware that small red lights were flashing on the walls. They were most likely a silent alarm and a call was probably sent to the police department. "Joker, I don't think this is a good idea," she said, walking up behind him. She gasped as he suddenly spun around and smiled at her. She flinched as she saw his hand thrust toward her face, thinking he was going to punch her, but instead she felt nothing. She saw a large, shiny diamond between his fingers. A diamond shaped like a crescent moon, actually.

"For the new Luna," he stated. He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a long piece of black string. He turned his back on Luna, fiddled with the diamond and string, and then turned, holding up a newly fashioned necklace. He walked around her body, tying the necklace around her neck. "Now come on, sweet heart. We've got some other things to do," he said, grabbing her arm and dragging her back out to the van. The two sped away from the store just in time, for two minutes later, two police cars arrived at the scene.

The Joker sped through the streets in silence and a look of determination on his face. He looked like he had some business to take care of. Luna, on the other hand, was looking down at her necklace. She hadn't had much jewelry before Arkham and she certainly didn't have any while in the asylum.

"And we're here," announce the Joker after a few minutes of crazy driving.

Luna looked up and saw another warehouse. The same lump in her throat rose as she looked at the dark windows, dirty exterior, and broken doors. Why did criminals always have to work out of these terrible places? You'd think that after years of operating out of warehouses, someone would catch on and tear them all down. But Luna pushed aside her thoughts and climbed out of the van with the Joker. She followed behind him as they walked up to the warehouse and Luna tried hard to push away the memories of her mother and brother screaming for their lives.

"Why are we here?" Luna whispered, not knowing if anyone else would be there.

The Joker turned his face to her and glared. "Why do you ask so many questions?" he snarled. Then he turned his head back, leading the way through the warehouse.

Luna fell completely silent, following close to the Joker. She soon saw a door at the end of the hallway they were in, with a beam of light leaking through the bottom. She could hear muffled voices on the other side. Then Luna heard the Joker begin to chuckle as he got about five feet from the door. Hearing the Joker laugh made Luna let out a few small giggles, that escalated into louder fits of laughter. As she and the Joker laughed, she noticed he opened the door and led her into a rather large, white room with a long table placed in the middle. As the two neared the table, the laughter died down and Luna got a good look at her surroundings. Around the table were the many mob bosses of Gotham City.

"Evening, boys," greeted the Joker as he pulled a chair from the table and sat down. "It's a good thing I went looking for you all or I might have missed this little pow-wow," he said, smiling evilly and looking at every face around the table grow nervous. "Funny how you all tried to do this while I was supposed to be in Arkham."

Luna stood next to the Joker's chair and looked at all of these men. She hadn't a clue what their names were, for she had not been given the chance to catch up on current events in Arkham. She didn't know what these men had done in the past four years, who they had killed, or who had been locked in jail. She did know, however, that every man in that room grew tense when the Joker sat before them.

"So! How about we get down to busine-" the Joker was cut off.

"Who's the broad?" asked one of the men from the table, completely going off the topic of crime.

"Won't that Harley Quinn get mad?"

The Joker wanted to scowl at the man for having interrupted him, but he gave a chuckle. "I don't see her around here, do you? Besides: Harley's old news. This," he said motioning over to Luna, "Is my newest assistant. Luna."

The men around the table looked her up and down, making Luna feel uncomfortable. She felt as if they were undressing her with their eyes. One of the men had gone so far as to smirk and lick his lips.

"Like what you see?" asked the Joker. He had seen the smirk the man had given Luna.

The mob boss looked over at the Joker. "How much you want for her, Clown?" he asked.

Luna's eyes widened and she looked down at the Joker. He couldn't actually be thinking about selling her. Could he?

The Joker frowned and smacked his lips. "She's not for sale," he stated simply, noticing Luna's apparent relief.

"Come on, Joker. I'll give ya half of my guys and profits," the man persisted.

The Joker's face remained in a frown. "You always think with your dick?" he asked. "You always try to buy people out of things?" he stood from his chair. "You disappoint me. I really thought you'd be more interesting," he said. Then in an instant he pulled a gun from his purple coat and shot the man right between the eyes. He saw several mob bosses and their thugs stand or reach inside their jackets for some sort of weapon. "Ah ah ah," warned the Joker, pulling out another large gun from inside his coat. A machine gun that he could use to take out every man in the room within seconds. All the men stopped their movements. "Ah, you guys are a little edgy right now, I can see that. I'll come back another time," he said, backing up toward the door.

Luna walked with him, not turning her back on the men, just as the Joker didn't. She wanted to get the hell out of this room where all the men were eyeing her body. Once she had followed the Joker to the van, she wasn't expecting what came. In a flash, the Joker spun around and slapped her. She yelped and tears sprang to her eyes as the slap left a harsh stinging sensation on her cheek.

"Next time I've gotta cover you, you're dead. Got it?" The Joker snapped, glaring down at her.

Luna nodded vigorously. She had not known that she had to defend herself from these men. He couldn't honestly blame her for having diverted the mens attention. But she wasn't going to push the matter for fear of getting hit once more.

The Joker smirked as Luna's eyes teared up. Then he patted her sore cheek and cooed. "Good Girl." Then he pushed her into the van and climbed in himself, speeding off into the night.


	10. Chapter 10

The Joker and Luna had gotten back to the warehouse in the early hours of the morning and Luna had immediately retreated to the bedroom that she had gotten clothing from. She knew the Joker wouldn't protest because she could see that he too was tired, even if he would never admit it. He had followed after her until they had reached the two doors and Luna was about to bid him good night, or rather good morning, but he had disappeared into his room, shutting the door in her face. Luna had shrugged and collapsed on her bed, falling asleep the minute her head it the mattress...

Yelling. Pleading. Whimpers. Squeals. Luna's eyes fluttered open and she yawned, stretching. She blinked a few times and sat up on her mattress and looked around, flinching when she saw that she was not in her white cell at Arkham. She was about to let out a scared cry, but then everything rushed back to her mind. The Joker had broken her out of Arkham. They had come here, changed clothes, robbed a jewelry store, and crashed a mob meeting. All in one night. Luna shook her head and rubbed her eyes a bit, trying to think about what had woken her up in the first place. The sounds of an argument occurring outside of the room.

"Puddin', please! I didn't know!" came a high pitched voice. Luna knew it belonged to a woman.

"Sure, Harley. Sure," she heard the Joker snap.

Intrigued, Luna sat up from her mattress and walked toward the door of her bedroom. She slowly pried it open and poked her head outside. No one was in the hallway. She crept out and walked down the hall toward the sounds of the Joker and mystery woman. She came across a simple wooden swing door and she gently pushed it open, peaking into the room. It looked like a grungy living room. Beat up sofa, small television on a wooden stand, an old coffee table, and a few wooden chairs. Luna was about to push the door open all the way when she saw the Joker walk within her view. Then she saw a woman follow after him.

This woman was rather tall and had a very curvy body that was dressed in a pair of jeans and a red tank top. Her face was heart-shaped and she had big, bright blue eyes and blonde hair. She looked too innocent to be tied in with the Joker. Luna guessed this woman was Harley Quinn. As much as Luna wanted to stay put and watch the scene unfold, she couldn't contain herself. She slowly pushed the door open and made her presence known to the Joker and Harley.

The Joker smirked as he saw Luna standing at the door. "Ahh! Morning, Luna Bell," he greeted, walking away from Harley and over to Luna.

Luna's eyebrows shot up as the Joker greeted her with such kindness. "Morning..." she said back. She looked up at him as he came toward her and she tilted her head to the side. She instinctively smiled as she saw him tilt his head as well. Then she became aware of Harley staring at her and the Joker. She cleared her throat and waved over to Harley. "Uhm...Hello.." she said sheepishly.

Harley glared at her and then looked at the Joker with sad eyes. "Who's she?" she snapped.

The Joker smiled wickedly and turned to Harley. "Harley, this is Luna. Luna, this is Harley," he introduced, placing his hand on Luna's back and walking her into the room.

Luna extended her hand to Harley out of politeness but Harley looked at it as if it was diseased. Luna drew her hand back. "Icy..." she muttered.

The Joker cackled. "What's the matter, Harl? Can't take a little competition?" he asked, thoroughly amused at how jealous Harley was of Luna.

"She ain't competition, Mistah J. But I'd like ta know why she's here," Harley snapped, still glaring at Luna.

"Why should I tell you anything? You ratted me out to the cops and got me thrown into Arkham," the Joker snapped back, becoming angry with her in a split second. Then his anger disappeared and his scowl was replaced with a smirk. "It's you're fault, I guess, that she's here. I met her in the loony bin," he said. He knew Harley would hate herself for one: having gotten him arrested, and two: for having caused Luna to meet the Joker in the first place. It was so fun toying with her.

Harley pouted. "I was here first, Puddin'," she complained.

"And you won't be here much longer if you keep it up," the Joker snapped. Then he turned on his heel and walked toward the door. He cackled and looked back at the girls. "Have fun getting to know each other. I've got some things to do," he said. Then he walked out, his cackle disappearing after a few moments.

Luna looked at Harley and raised her eyebrows as she saw Harley glaring at her. "Uh...soo...how long have you known the Joker?" she asked innocently, rocking back and forth on her feet.

Harley 'hmphed' and crossed her arms. "Longer than you, that's for sure," she said smugly.

"Oh? How long is that?" Luna asked.

"Two and a half years," Harley said simply.

Luna let out a small giggle and noticed Harley sent her a glare. "I've known him longer, then. Sorta..." she said, explaining why she giggled. "You see, I met him about four years ago. Before he was the Joker," she said. Boldly, Luna walked across the room and sat on the old beat up couch.

Harley's eyes squinted in hatred. "You were that mute girl at the Asylum," she said in recognition. "I used to work at Arkham Asylum. I heard of you," she stated.

Luna looked at Harley curiously. "Oh? What was your name? I think I would have remembered a Dr. Harley Quinn," she said, making calm conversation.

Harley sat down on the couch as well, but at the farthest end, away from Luna. "Dr. Harleen Quinzel," she informed her.

Luna nodded. "So...you've known him for two and a half years, huh? That's just about half of my time at Arkham. What happened?" she asked. She had nothing against Harley. In fact, she was hoping they would become friends, since Luna had pretty much no one except the Joker.

"The Joker was admitted to Arkham for the first time those years ago. And I was his doctor," Harley stated. "His personality...intrigued me. I couldn't get enough of him. So...I helped him break out of Arkham Asylum...and became his assistant."

Luna nodded once more. "Soo...if you don't mind my asking, what happened recently? That he was thrown back in?"

Harley sighed sadly, not wanting to explain, but she did so anyway. "I thought I was helping out a plan of his...though he never says he has any plans," she said. "I tried getting a few petty criminals on the job to make things, ya know, run smoother. But I didn't know they were undercover cops," she whined, looking down at her hands. "We got caught. I was able to get away, but Puddin'..he was taken away laughin'," she concluded.

Luna nodded, taking in the entire story. So that was how the Joker ended up in the asylum. Luna looked at Harley, who was staring down at her hands. She seemed to feel terrible for being the cause of his incarceration, but what confused Luna was Harley's emotions toward the man himself. She seemed completely devoted to him. Head over heels in love. And yet, the Joker didn't seem to share even the slightest amount of those feelings for her. How could Harley stand it?

Luna thought back to the completely random kiss the Joker had given her the day before. She didn't know what had caused it; maybe a rush of adrenaline pumping through his veins. She honestly could not tell. But she had trouble understanding the kiss. The Joker did not seem like the type of man to physically show affection...unless it was in the form of torture. Luna's attention went back to Harley, who had a rather annoyed expression on her face. She was about to say something, but a loud bang filled the room, making her jump.

"Come on, Luna Bell! We've got a party to crash!" the Joker's voice rang out.

Luna stood from the couch and turned, facing the Joker. He had about four guys behind him, all in clown masks. Tilting her head to the side, she wondered where they had come from so fast.

"What about me, Puddin'?" Harley asked, looking up at the Joker with childish eyes.

The Joker looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "What about you?" he asked. He smacked his lips together and motioned for Luna. When she reached him, he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Oh yeah. Have some food ready or something when we get back," he said, turning and leading Luna and his new thugs out of the room.

Luna couldn't help but feel sorry for Harley, but as soon as she felt it, it was gone and replaced by curiosity. Curiosity toward the Joker's actions and behavior toward her and curiosity for the newest task at hand. The Joker led her out to the stolen vehicle from the night before and lifted her into the passenger's seat roughly. Then he made his way to the driver's seat and placed the key in the ignition.

"Buckle up, boys!" the Joker cackled, knowing very well that there were no seats in the back, let alone seat belts. Then he started up the van and peeled out onto the road, laughing hysterically.


	11. Chapter 11

With the Joker's crazy driving, and surprisingly low number of street cops, the van made it almost all the way across town in fifteen minutes. The thugs in the back were rattled, but not as stunned by the Joker's driving as Luna first was. They had probably experienced it when the Joker had mysteriously brought them to the warehouse. Luna was not at all shaken by the drive. She was used to the dangerous turns and speeds the Joker reached, though it still scared her that at any moment he could choose to kill all of the van's passengers, including himself.

Luna looked out the window and saw yet another warehouse, but this one appeared to be open and working. There were large crates outside and men walking around, brining things this way and that, talking, and apparently working a trade port. Trade for legal products, she highly doubted it. But nonetheless, it was a warehouse and criminals always used them as meeting places or hideouts. And just as Luna had suspected, the Joker was here to talk to some of the men from last night.

Luna noticed the Joker stepped out of the van and began walking toward the warehouse, so she scrambled out of the car and followed after him. His thugs caught up a few moments later and they all walked toward a back door of the warehouse. None of the men walking around seemed to notice them , so getting inside wasn't a problem. The Joker led everyone into the building and through dingy pale hallways and toward a set of white double doors. He was laughing when he entered the room beyond the doors, just as he was last night, but not as hysterically.

"Mmm. And I thought my jokes were bad," he stated in his mocking voice.

Luna walked in behind him and saw a few men from the night before, with the exception of the man the Joker shot dead. They all stopped what they were doing and looked up at the Joker, becoming tense.

"Who invited the clown?" asked a rather large black man.

"That doesn't matter," the Joker said simply. "What does matter, is a little business deal I couldn't quite get to you last night," he said, taking a seat in front of all of the mob bosses.

"I don't want to hear what you have to say," the black man scowled. Then he looked up at two of his thugs. "Get rid of him," he ordered. Immediately, the men walked toward the Joker.

The Joker stood up quickly and pulled a pencil out of his sleeve. He waved it in front of the men and smiled wickedly. "How about a magic trick?" he asked. He looked down at the table and dug the point of the pencil into the top, so it was standing on its own. "I'm going to make this pencil...disappear!" he said in a mystical voice.

Luna walked closer to the table to see what he was going to do. Instead of seeing a traditional magic trick, she saw the thugs rush toward the Joker. If Luna had blinked, she would have missed what had happened next. The Joker had taken hold of one of the men and brought his head down on the table, where the pencil was. When the man fell to the floor, he motioned to the spot where the pencil no longer was.

"Tada!" he exclaimed.

Luna's eyes widened as she spotted the man on the floor and saw the pencil about an inch out of his eye. It had gone deep; right through his eyeball and probably into his brain. There was no way he was going to survive that, even with rushed medical attention. She looked at the Joker, horrified that he could do something like that and simply laugh about it.

While Luna had been busy staring at the body on the floor, she had missed an entire conversation that the Joker had with the men. She was only pulled from her thoughts when she saw the Joker stand and pull open his coat. She looked toward him and saw a collection of small bombs and grenades all attached to one string that he had in his hand. She saw the men tense, for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, as they realized the Joker was not afraid of blowing everyone up.

"Here's my card. Call me when you..ah..want to take things a little more seriously..." the Joker said, placing a Joker Card down on the table and making his way toward the double doors. He looked at Luna and motioned for her to go through the doors before him. Without hesitation, Luna rushed through the doors and into the group of thugs. When the Joker made his way through, he closed his coat and briskly walked out of the warehouse and back into the van, taking off when everyone was inside once more.

"What was all that about?" Luna asked as the Joker drove through traffic.

The Joker cackled. "Someone wasn't listening," he said, looking her way. "We had a little chat about Gotham's Dark Knight; Batman," he stated. "He's ruining my city. And I don't like it...neither do those scum mobsters," he explained. "So we're gonna get rid of him!" he laughed.

Luna stared ahead, at the blue skies of Gotham. Batman? He was the 'hero' that put many a man in jail (as well as Arkham). She didn't know much, but did find out through eavesdropping that the was a vigilante and the hero that the citizens of Gotham admired. He was the symbol of hope in a city full of crime. Luna snorted when she thought of this, and how corny it was. With a man like the Joker running loose, Gotham would never be safe.

Elsewhere...

Bruce Wayne sat at a desk surrounded by flat screen computer monitors and several keyboards on the surface. His surroundings where plain; rock walls, concrete floor, and white fluorescent lights above him. He himself was dressed in a simple black shirt and blue jeans.

"Why would he choose her..." he muttered to himself, his eyes scanning his multiple monitors. On the screens were pictures of Luna Vale and The Joker. He had accessed images and footage of Luna's stay at Arkham and was now studying them, trying to pick up on whatever trait she held that the Joker seemed to like. She looked and acted completely normal, with the exception of her refusal to speak to anyone in the asylum. She had suffered through a traumatic experience before Arkham and he didn't blame her for staying silent through all of her sessions. Who would appreciate someone trying to invade thoughts that might hurt someone physically and or emotionally?

Bruce's blue eyes scanned a picture of Luna. She was beautiful, but the years she had spent at Arkham were visible in her face. Her eyes were dull, there were dark bags under them, and her skin was an odd pale color that did not mix well with the natural dark tone. Then he looked over at the Joker, frowning. "What do you want from her?" he asked the picture, as if demanding a response.

Frustrated, Bruce stood and held his hands behind his back. If he could just be there when the Joker made his next move, and maybe remove Luna from his side, he might be able to see what the Joker saw in her.

Back at the warehouse...

After the van reached the warehouse, Luna was the first one inside. And she was the first one to be completely ignored by Harley. The blonde greeted the thugs with an acknowledging look and swooned over the Joker, but completely passed Luna. It didn't bother Luna so much. If Harley wanted to be immature about this, then she could. Luna wasn't planning on interfering with her 'puddin' anyway.

"Mistah J, I missed you." Harley pouted. "When can I go out with you all on a job?"

The Joker rolled his eyes and brushed passed her. "When I say you can," he said simply, stalking off to his room.

Luna had snickered from her position on the couch, earning a glare from Harley. This glare only made Luna laugh harder and roll over onto the cushions. Harley seemed annoyed by the laughter and stormed out of the room, leaving Luna by herself. When her giggles died down, Luna sat up and stared at the wall. She seemed to have made such a dynamic change in a matter of days, the most significant changes occurring in the last 12 hours. She laughed, she mocked, she spoke. It was such a difference from her previous behavior at Arkham. It made her wonder if she indeed was insane. No one sane could possibly make such personality changes in such a short time, no matter what environment he or she was in.

Luna looked into the television across from her. She still had caked make up on her face. Her hair was still up in a bun. Her clothing was in pretty good condition. She tilted her head to the side and studied her appearance. She wasn't used to seeing herself with make up, but she wasn't complaining. It was a look she wouldn't mind keeping.

After a few hours of sitting around the warehouse, Luna was finally confronted by the Joker.

"Luna Bell, I need you to be a doll and do something for me," she heard him say from behind her. She felt his fingers trace the 'J' on the back of her neck and shivered. It still stung when touched.

"What?" she asked, referring to what he needed her to do.

"I'm gonna let you and Harley do this. And bond a little," he snickered, still tracing the J. "And it's gonna be simple. Just take a few hundred bucks from the bank. It should be easy enough. Do you wanna do it?" he asked, though it wasn't a question. She had no choice and she would have to steal whether she liked it or not.

Obediently, Luna nodded. She stood from the couch and walked with the Joker outside. The van was running and Luna saw Harley inside at the wheel. She didn't mind not driving. She barely knew how anyway.

"Good luck, girls," the Joker cackled, shutting the van door once Luna was inside.

The ride in the dark of the night was quiet. Harley made no move to speak to Luna, and Luna didn't make any move to speak to her. It was better that way; they wouldn't fight. The drive was quick and when Harley cut the engine, she looked over at Luna for the first time. She didn't look happy about doing this with her.

"You stay here and I'll get the money. I can't leave something like this to you," Harley sneered, exiting the van.

Luna sighed and leaned against her window, watching Harley skip up the bank steps and soundlessly find a way in. A sudden movement caught her eye and she turned her head fully to try and get a better look at what caught her attention. Luna's eyes widened and she let out a terrified shriek as she came face to face with a man under an angry black mask. When she saw that he made no move to injure her or do much of anything, Luna stopped her yelling and looked at him curiously. She saw him dressed in all black armor and a black cape. His mask, or rather cowl, had two sharp ears (or what looked like ears) on the top. Was this Batman?

"Batman?" she asked. She saw the man nod and then reach to open the door of the van. When he got it open, Luna scooted away from him, into the driver's seat, not wanting to be taken away. She looked at him with wide, frightened eyes and kept herself as far from him as possible.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you," Batman said in a low, gruff voice.

Luna tilted her head to the side and studied him. Bright blue eyes shone from under the dark black of his mask. They were almost as intriguing as the Joker's brown eyes. "Why?" she asked.

The Batman seemed to be surprised by this question. "I don't want to hurt you," he replied.

Luna looked at the Batman and then shifted her eyes to the bank. Was Harley almost finished? Hopefully. Being around the Batman was making Luna nervous. She didn't know whether to trust the Batman or shoot him in the face. And seeing as how she hadn't exactly killed anyone, she doubted she could do the latter.

"Come with me, Luna," he said softly yet firmly. He held out his gloved hand and waited patiently for Luna to make a move.

Luna squinted at him and then glanced back at the bank. How long could it possibly take to steal a few hundred dollars? Luna looked back at Batman, inconspicuously shifting one of her hands behind her back and onto the handle of the door. If the Bat tried taking her, she'd open the door and fall back. She didn't care if she ended up harming herself. She didn't want to go with Batman, where she'd probably end up in jail.

Suddenly a gunshot rang out and the windshield of the van was shattered. The Batman jumped back in surprise and Luna jerked open the door, falling backwards and out of the van. Another shot was fired, making Luna flinch. She groaned as she turned on her back and looked toward the bank. Harley was standing with a bag of cash and a gun pointed at Batman.

"Hiya, Bats!" Harley smiled, skipping down the steps. She rushed over to Luna and knelt down, keeping her gun on Batman. "You ok, doll?" she asked.

Luna nodded and sat up. "Y-yes," she mumbled. She looked over at the Batman who was looking at the two women, mainly Luna, in disappointment.

"If you need help, Luna...don't hesitate to call," he said, quickly spinning on his heel and running into an alley.


	12. Chapter 12

Harley had surprised Luna with her behavior at the bank. She had seemed concerned for Luna's safety. And on the ride 'home', the two had sat in a comfortable silence instead of one filled with jealousy and hatred. When the women entered the warehouse, the lack of bickering (mostly on Harley's part) was a shock to the Joker. He had been hoping for complaints and reasons to inflict pain upon one of them. Instead, the girls seemed to actually...get along!

The minute those two women walked through the door they were chatting. Instead of Harley behaving like a jealous little girl, she acted as a sort of model for Luna. Joker had caught small descriptions of his previous attacks on the city, the best way to go about crime, and sending a message to society by not playing with any rules. She was teaching Luna all about the Joker's stylistic criminal ways. It made the Joker slightly proud of himself; he had taught Harley well and now he wouldn't have to show Luna how to do things his way.

"So that's why the Joker likes playing with knives," Luna said softly after hours of sitting in her room and talking with Harley. Luna found Harley to be quite an intelligent woman, save for the fact she was in love with the Joker. But everything else about her was fantastic. She was enthusiastic about sending the Joker's message that the 'system' doesn't work. That schemers always lose. Luna had been awed by how skilled Harley was, and saw why the Joker kept her around.

"Mhm," Harley concluded, playing with one of her blonde pigtails.

The two women sat in silence for a few moments, just staring at random objects in the room. After hearing all of what Harley had to say, Luna was anxious to go out and actually do something with her new 'teacher'. As for Harley, she knew how anxious Luna was and was just as eager to take her out on the town and cause a little bit of chaos.

All of the sudden, the door to Luna's room was thrown open and the Joker stood in the doorway, his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. "Hello doll face," he greeted in his sadistic high pitched voice. Then he looked directly at Harley. "You," he said, knowing that the lack of acknowledgement would frustrate her. Just as he had suspected, Harley pouted and pulled at her pigtails. He shifted his gaze back to Luna. "I need to talk to you, Toots."

Luna stood and walked followed the Joker out of the room after giving Harley one last look before the door closed. She was led into the Joker's room where she stood awkwardly in the doorway as he waltzed in. She shifted from one foot to the other impatiently. "Yes?" she asked, wanting to speed up the process. The Joker went over to the desk in the room and sat down on it, picking up a stray knife and twirling it in his fingers. "I hear that Batsy's got a thing for you now," he said casually, keeping his eyes on his knife. "He wants to _rescue_ you from the big bad Joker."

Luna blinked a few times. So that much explained his mysterious appearance last night. She waited silently for the Joker to continue, and sure enough, he did.

"This is interesting, ya see, because I need some way to talk to Batballs without..._hostile activity_ on his part," he giggled, obviously not including himself in the peace statement. Then Joker looked up at Luna, his eyes flashing wickedly. "And I know just how to do it now..." he murmured, standing up and walking towards Luna.

Luna remained rooted in place, struck by a certain fear of the Joker if she dared move. She saw him come closer until he finally stopped just inches away from her. She felt the cool steel blade of the knife against her neck and jaw, and she resisted the urge to shiver. "And how's that..?" she choked out, trying to mask her fear.

The Joker seemed upset that she spoke, but it disappeared immediately. "Use you as bait, muh dear," he grinned, his gruesome red lips curving upwards. Then he pulled away from Luna and walked back to the desk, picking up a newspaper that was on the dirty wood surface. "Tonight is your night," he stated, turning around and flashing the newspaper in front of Luna's face.

The newspaper's headline read "Billionaire Bruce Wayne Holds Annual Charity Ball" and under it was information on the ball's significance and location. Luna gulped, not liking how she was being dragged into this. If she was bait, what would happen to her if she was to actually be caught without the Joker there to take her back? She would be thrown into Arkham once more. And she certainly didn't want to go back. No, that was not an option.

The Joker smirked at Luna's uneasiness and then pushed her out of his room. "Have Harley doll you up. We leave at 6," he snapped, slamming the door in her stunned face.

Luna tripped over herself as she walked back into the room and she sat down on the bed. "Joker says you have to 'doll me up', Harley," Luna said, using her fingers to quote what the psychotic clown had said.

Harley's face seemed to light up and she immediately dragged Luna towards her room where she had a cosmetic table set up and ready for action. "So you're going to the Wayne Ball, then," she stated, letting Luna's hair loose from her bun.

Luna drew in a sharp breath as her hair brushed against her still sore J, but she nodded none the less. "Yes...I'm bait," she said, looking at herself in the mirror as Harley began styling her hair. She watched as the woman pulled bits of hair up at a time, making her hair look messy yet elegant at the same time.

"Ah. Well, it makes sense..." the blond mumbled, tying the brunette's hair up. Then she grabbed some make up off the table and freshened the make up that was already on Luna's face. "After Batman comin' after you 'n all," she said.

Luna wanted to frown. Why was the city so keen on getting her back, anyway? It wasn't like she was useful in any way. She was just a lonely inmate at Arkham.

Once Harley finished Luna's make up, she skipped over to her closet and disappeared inside. Minutes later she reappeared with a lacy white and purple ballerina's, or what looked like a ballerina's, dress and a pair of matching heels.

Luna blinked, wondering where in the world Harley could have gotten such a wide wardrobe. She had little time to continue her thinking, for Harley pulled her up and shoved the dress and shoes in her arms. Obviously, Luna would be wearing that ensemble to the Charity Ball. So without protesting, Luna changed into the outfit.

"Perfect!" Harley exclaimed.

Luna smiled just a bit. She did look nice in the outfit, but as soon as she remembered why she was wearing it, her stomach flipped in uneasiness. Just as she was going to express her feelings to Harley, the Joker waltzed in, clapping his hands.

"Very nice, Doll face," he said, looking Luna over. Then he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her outside of the warehouse. Without warning, he picked her up and tossed her into the back of the van that was already running and ready to drive off. Unfortunately for Luna, there wasn't enough time to get into any sort of seat or safe position because the second the Joker got into the driver's seat, his lead foot hit the gas and the van lurched onto the road at top speeds.

The ride wasn't long, probably due to the Joker's law-defying speeding, and before she knew it, Luna was being pulled out of the van by the Joker. The two walked up a small set of steps up to a large skyscraper and entered through the glass double doors at the front. There was a security guard at the desk and he immediately recognized the Joker, but didn't have any time to do anything for the Joker had shot a bullet clean through his skull in a heartbeat.

"It's show time, girly. Make daddy proud," the Joker hissed, pushing Luna into an elevator and pressing the button for the top floor.

Luna's eyes widened just a little as the Joker shoved a gun and a knife into her hands just before the door closed. He was expecting injured and dead guests. Taking in a shaky breath, Luna closed her eyes and listened to the corny elevator music playing. She wouldn't be able to kill a person. She knew that. She might not even be able to hurt someone! But she could always act. Maybe if everyone was scared of her, and didn't try anything, she would be able to lure Batman, when he appeared, out of the building without any casualties.

A soft ding brought Luna out of her thoughts as the elevator doors slid open to reveal an elegant marble hallway. She stepped out of the elevator and began walking down the hall, the only sound coming from the clicking of her heels. Soon, she began to hear faint music and talking. Following her hearing, she was led to a large wooden door. The music and festivities were going on just a door width away. "Here goes nothing..." she whispered to herself, taking a deep breath and pushing the doors open.

At first, no one seemed to notice Luna walk in. Then a few people near the door noticed her and stopped what they were doing, stunned and afraid of the clown girl. It flowed through the room like a chain reaction; one person halted what they were doing and others, wondering what happened, would look and do the same, and so the chain continued. It wasn't long until everyone in the room was turned to face Luna in shock and fear. Luna mentally took in a deep breath and turned on her acting skills, pulling off her best Joker attitude.

"Evening ladies and germs!" she giggled, cracking a wild smile and tilting her head to the side. "I'm flattered. You didn't have to stop all what you were doing for little ol' me," she said. She began walking further into the crowd of people, and everyone moved out of her way the minute she came within five feet of them. Everyone's eyes were on her and her weapons.

"Now, I've come here for one thing only," she announced, taking a little shrimp off of someone's plate and popping it into her mouth. "I need to have a word with Batman, and I've noticed he shows up to these kinds of things when there's...danger," she said, waving her gun in the air as she said danger and causing some people to gasp and duck away from her in fear.

"Well you're right about that," came a gruff voice from behind Luna, causing her to spin around.


	13. Chapter 13

Luna looked up into bright blue eyes under an angry bat cowl. Putting on her best acting skills, she giggled up at him and thrusted her arms wide open. "Batman! I was beginning to think you wouldn't show up!" she said, waving around her weapons. "The Joker wouldn't have been happy if you decided not to come."

Batman glared at Luna. "Put the weapons down," he commanded. He saw the young woman before him smile slyly.

"Oh no, Batsy. As soon as I do, you'll haul me off to jail. And I can't have that."

Batman narrowed his eyes. "Why are you working for him, Luna?" he asked. "It's not good for your mental health," he reasoned, taking a tentative step toward her.

Luna's eyes widened then narrowed, glaring at Batman. "How dare you question my mental health?" she spat. She took a confident step toward him. "There is nothing wrong with my mind." Then she raised the gun, pointing it between Batman's eyes. "Then again," she smirked while playing with the Bat's mind now, "all it took was one bad day to get me into Arkham."

Batman inwardly flinched as she repeated what the Joker so often referred to. _The difference between me, and those stupid people out there is one bad day_. Returning to the matter at hand, Batman slowly lifted his hand and pushed the gun down. "You don't have to follow his path, Luna. Come with me and I promise nothing bad will happen to you."

Luna shook her head, some sections of hair loosening from her up-do and falling around her face. "No no, Bats. You come with me," she said, pointing toward the door of the room. "But I can't promise the same things for you," she grinned. Then she took a step toward Batman and pushed him toward the door. She was half expecting him to lash out at her and beat her to the ground, but he didn't. He let her push him to the large doors and into the elevator. Luna smiled inwardly, having almost completed her mission without a single death on her hands. On the ride down in the elevator, Luna let her guard down just a bit and lowered her gun from Batman.

"The Joker should have taught you never to let your guard down," cam the Dark Knight's voice from behind her.

Luna was about to spin around but the man grabbed her arms and pinned them painfully behind her back. She struggled trying to get out of his grasp, but it was useless. She was no match for the Bat, and even if she could get out, what would she do? She was still in the small elevator. She'd only be caught again. Suddenly, there came a faint 'ding' sound and the doors of the elevator slipped open, revealing the Joker and his men in the lobby with bodies of dead security guards and bell boys. Luna looked at the Joker with wide eyes, knowing that if she left with him, she was gonna get it for having been restrained by the Batman, for now he could make deals with her as a hostage in front of him.

"Move, Joker," Batman growled, walking out of the elevator and pushing Luna along.

The Joker laughed. "How rude you are, Batsy. Not even a hello!" Then he pulled a gun out from his coat and aimed it at Batman. "Not a chance," he added, smirking evilly. "I was actually hoping to have a lovely conversation with you tonight, but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen, seeing as how you've got your kevlar in a twist.. Shame, too. I had a deal to make with you about, oh, a month's worth of a Joker-free Gotham. Oh well, looks like that vacation's gonna have to be postponed!" he said, pulling the hammer back to cock the gun.

Batman stood his ground. "Shoot and you kill her," he said, moving Luna in a position so that she was covering most of his body. Luna's faint wince of pain was heard by all in the room.

The Joker looked at Luna and smiled. "That's ok. I'm willing to make some sacrifices," he said, slipping his finger onto the trigger.

Luna's eyes widened. He really was going to kill her. He didn't care if she lived or died. For some reason...it hurt. It hurt Luna to know that the Joker didn't care about her at all.

Batman stiffened, seeing the malicious look in the Joker's eye. The mad clown wouldn't hesitate to dispose of something that was useless to him. He had to do something to save Luna. Anything. But before he could to anything, he felt Luna's body fall and a sickening crack traveled through the room.

Shocked, everyone looked down at Luna. Her left arm was awkwardly bent upwards, still in the Batman's grip, but her right hand was free. Taking the moment of shock to her advantage, Luna jumped up and whipped out her knife, slashing at the Batman's arm that was still holding her. Immediately the strong black grip let go of her broken arm and she took that chance to stumble away from the Batman and behind the Joker, whose eyes had followed her, wide with slight shock.

Not missing a beat, the Joker turned back to the Batman and repositioned his gun on the masked hero, who was holding his now bleeding arm. "Looks like she's not useless after all," the Joker smirked. "Now Batballs, I won't kill you now, seeing as how it would be unfair and totally boring to just shoot you while you're hurt. I like a little fight in my prey. You can thank Luna Bell for that," he laughed, turning and grabbing Luna's right hand and pulling her out of the hotel with his men close behind.

Once outside, he shoved her into the van, though for some reason not as roughly as he would have before. Maybe his subconscious wanted to avoid hurting her even further. It disgusted him, quite frankly, that his own subconscious would betray him that way. But he thought nothing else of it as he jumped into the driver's seat and took off back to the warehouse. When he arrived, the men in the back climbed out and went inside, but he remained in his seat, looking out of the windshield.

Luna looked at the Joker, raising an eyebrow as he just sat there. She was debating whether or not she should ask if he was okay. Who knew what he'd do to her? But before she could think of doing or saying anything, the Joker turned and looked at her.

"Didn't think you had a stunt like that in you, Doll," he smirked, looking down at her arm. It was already bruising from where Batman had held her and the point where she broke it. Luna looked down at her arm, her eyes welling with tears as the adrenaline from earlier left, letting the pain set in. She bit her lip hard, trying not to cry in front of the Joker, afraid of what a sign of weakness might spark in him. Her mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood and Luna could no longer hold back. She let out a cry of pain and some of the blood in her mouth dripped down her chin. She hesitantly looked up, but she didn't see the Joker in his seat. Relief filled her. He hadn't heard her cry. But then she heard her door open and felt the Joker reach in and take her in his arms. Her head whipped around as she came face to face with the Clown, surprised by such a gentle act.

The Joker raised an eyebrow as he saw tears streaming down her face and a small stream of blood drip down her chin. He smirked as he realized the pain must have finally set in. "You're such a baby. It's just a broken arm," he rolled his eyes.

Luna choked a bit, laughing and crying at the same time. " I don't enjoy pain, unlike some people I know..." she said lightheartedly, looking the Joker in the eye.

He grinned, a dark glint shining in his eye. "I'd get used to pain if I were you. You could be feeling a lot of it in this line of work," he said. Then his facial expression changed to serious thought as he looked at the blood on Luna's chin. And then on an impulse, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to her's.

Shocked, Luna could only sit there with wide eyes as she felt the Joker's lips on her's. But then she began to respond, moving her lips with his. She could taste the paint from around his lips, and could feel it smudge against her face. But that wasn't the only thing she noticed. Luna felt her stomach flip as the Joker's tongue slipped into her mouth. She felt her heart beat four times as fast when her body was pressed against his.

The two parted eventually, breathing irregularly and looking into each others eyes. There was something there, that neither could place. But it was there, and it was evident that the two felt something for one another.

The Joker looked at Luna and frowned. Then he hauled her up roughly and carried her into the warehouse. The minute they reached the room with the television and couch, he dropped her. When he heard her wince from the pain in her left arm, he almost turned to ask if she was all right. Almost. But instead, he stormed out of the room and to his own.

Luna sat on the beat up couch, cradling her arm. The tears were starting to flow again. Hopefully no one would come in and see her in such a state. But as her luck would have it, the door swung open and in came Harley.

"What happened?" the blond asked, skipping over to the couch quickly and sitting next to Luna. Without waiting for a response, she reached for the cradled arm. "Hold still. I won't hurt ya," she said as Luna instinctively moved away. Then tenderly, Harley examined the broken arm. It seemed she wasn't only schooled in the mental field. Ripping a piece of fabric off the couch cushions, she made a makeshift sling and lifted Luna's arm into it. "Just keep it there til we get somethin' proper," she instructed.

Luna nodded, giving Harley a teary smile. "Thanks Harley," she said gratefully. Then slowly she stood, making her way to her room.


	14. Chapter 14

For some odd reason, the Joker refused to let Luna out of the warehouse while her arm was broken. He continuously used the excuse that she would be more of a liability than an asset. But it pleased Harley, for now she had a more active role with the Joker's crime. Luna didn't mind too much. She enjoyed the peace and quiet she had when the Joker was out with the rest of the crew. It gave her time to sort out her feelings for the Mad Clown.

And a lot of sorting she did. That night she broke her arm was not the last time the two had had such an encounter. Countless other times, when the Joker's men and Harley were out on a job, he would visit Luna in her room. He would ask how she felt, being a regular smooth talker. And then he would sit down on her bed, at first seeming like he was merely sitting for the hell of it or to piss Luna off. But instead of that, he would wrap a careful arm around her and pull her close, kissing her as if he needed to feel her lips. Like it was a drug he was now hooked on. And Luna had no complaints; she felt herself needing the same contact.

Sometimes during these random little sessions, the Joker would hold her a little too hard, to where it hurt, or he'd pull at her hair in no seductive way, shape, or form. It seemed as if it angered him that he was so hooked on Luna. It seemed as if he wanted to hurt her for making him feel in such a way. But the minute any sign of discomfort came from Luna, a wince or sharp hiss of pain, he would let go immediately and examine her. It confused Luna; the bipolar attitude of the Joker.

It had been about two months now, and as Luna sat on the couch and watched the television, it looked as if the people of Gotham believed her to be dead. Turning up the volume, Luna tuned in.

"Crime continues to rise in Gotham thanks to the Joker. Police have spoken to us briefly about the whereabouts of Miss Luna Vale, the Arkham Asylum inmate that was taken when the Joker escaped the ward. She has not turned up in any recent Joker activity within the past two months and some think she might be dead," the female news anchor recited.

Luna laughed and leaned back on the couch, tuning out the rest of the news. She looked down at her arm and slipped it out of the sling. It was a bit stiff, but every day for the past week or so she had been removing it (of course while Harley and the Joker were out and unaware). She would stretch her arm and test how it held up when holding or opening something. By now, it seemed to be completely healed. It only needed to be moved around a worked a bit.

"What is your arm doing out of the sling?" came Harley's shriek from the entrance of the room.

Luna jumped and whipped her head to the side to look at Harley's shocked expression. "Uhm...stretching?"

Harley walked into the room and sat on the couch, grabbing her arm. Noticing that Luna had not winced, she took a closer look at the arm. No bruising, little stiffness, no pain. The blond looked up and smiled. "Yah've got good instincts. You're all healed up!" she said, letting go of Luna's arm.

"Great! That means she can tag along tonight. Gotham's been missing her," the Joker's voice chimed in.

Luna looked up and grinned. "They think I'm dead, did ya hear?" she mentioned playfully, nodding over to the television. "Had a report about it a few minutes ago."

The Joker nodded, letting out a howl of laughter. "The Bat's been houndin' me about you, too." He looked at Luna, giving her a smirk meant only for her. "You'd think he'd know me a little better than to put something out of its misery while it's hurt. I like to see them...suffer."

Luna felt the need to raise an eyebrow, to question why he said that, but she thought better of it. It was a question that was not meant for anyone else to hear but the Joker, and maybe not even him. She would keep it to herself until she was sure he would not take it the wrong way. So she simply nodded, looking back to the television blankly. "What's going on tonight?" she asked finally, curious as to what she'd be joining that evening.

The Joker smirked. "Oh you know...simple stuff. I've got some deals to make." Then he stalked out of the room, giving Luna one simple glance, which meant she was to follow him.

Excusing herself from Harley, Luna stood and followed the Joker out. She didn't look back to see Harley's face; the pout on the blond's lips would only make Luna feel terrible. She may have been the slightest bit insane, but she was aware of other peoples feelings.

It wasn't long until Luna and the Joker reached his room. When the two finally entered, the door slammed shut and the Joker pinned Luna up against the wall roughly, crushing his lips against hers. A lusty growl erupted from his throat as Luna began to respond by wrapping her arms around his neck and grabbing a fistful of his unkept green hair. After a few heated moments, the two pulled away, breathing irregularly. Then Luna saw an animalistic look enter the Joker's eyes. It didn't look good.

Suddenly the Joker grabbed Luna's arms forcefully and shoved her against the wall with a hard thud. Her head hit the wall, a crack sounding through the room. Without giving Luna any time to react, he threw her to the floor.

Luna lay slumped on the floor, feeling an enormous amount of pain in her head. She struggled to sit up, then lifted her hand to the back of her head. She felt warm, sticky liquid beginning to trickle down the back of her skull and neck. She looked up, seeing the Joker take a step toward her. Immediately she shuffled back, away from the mad man.

"Aw, where ya going, Doll?" the Joker asked, a sadistic twist to his voice. It sent a chill down Luna's spine. "Are you afraid?"

Luna remained silent, continuing to back away from him as he inched closer to her. No doubt that if he caught her he would only hurt her more.

The Joker's sick smile fell and he frowned angrily. "I asked you a question," he said, his voice dropping an octave. A growl ripped through him as he still received no answer from the cowering woman on the floor before him.

Luna saw the next movements in slow motion. The Joker pulled a knife out from his pocket and curled his arm back, getting ready to throw the weapon at her. Fear and adrenaline kicked into her system and she scrambled to her feet, dodging the sharp silver object by a hair. Then things sped up, and Luna found herself tripping over her own feet over to the bed. She heard the Joker retrieve his knife from the wall it had stuck in and turn on his heels to make his way toward her. Luna jumped onto the bed and raced to make it off the other side to put distance between herself and the Joker, but she felt a leather gloved hand wrap itself around her ankle and pull her back across the bed.

"Trying to escape me?" asked the Joker, flipping Luna onto her back. "What about those moments that you've so enjoyed over the past two months: those kisses. Are you running away from that?" he snapped, pinning Luna under his body as he crawled over her trembling form.

Luna shook her head, knowing that if she didn't reply, she'd be in more trouble than she already was.

The Joker smirked. "Good girl," he cooed, stroking her face with his knife. Then his face fell as blood began to trickle from the thin line the knife carved along her skin. "Why do you do this to me?" he asked softly, pulling the knife away from Luna's face. His eyes closed for a moment and then opened again, peering into Luna's wide and fearful gaze.

"D-do what to you?" Luna asked, trying to steady her breathing. Her heart was racing, not only because of the panic that shot through her in the last few moments, but the mere closeness of the Joker sent her heart running a marathon.

The Joker scowled and yanked on her hair. "You know what you do to me!" he snarled, his eyes burning dangerously.

Without realizing what she was doing, Luna's leg shot up and kicked the Joker between the legs. The Clown coughed and hunched over, releasing his grip on her, giving her a chance to slip out from under him. Without hesitating, Luna shot off the bed and ran toward the door to the room.

"Not so fast, Luna Bell, " the Joker said, suddenly close behind her.

Before Luna could reach the doorknob, the Joker grabbed her around the waist and spun her around, making her face the bed instead of the door. Luna struggled in his grasp but found it useless. The Joker didn't look it, but he was strong. Luna was thrown onto the bed and immediately pinned down by the Joker once more, but this time he trapped her legs under his so she couldn't kick him. Fortunately, he had lost his knife somewhere on the floor and couldn't use it on her now.

"You're not being very cooperative, Luna..." he growled.

Luna panted, getting worn out from trying to escape the Joker. She felt like snapping back at him, to tell him not to give her a reason to behave this way, but she decided against it. She'd be dead by the time she finished her statement.

The Joker remained silent for a few moments as he looked down at Luna and studied her face. "You're tearing me up, Luna. And I don't know what to do about it," the Joker complained, shaking his head and shutting his eyes tightly.

Luna's eyes softened as she saw the Joker in such emotional distress. She was able to wiggle one of her arms free without him noticing and she placed it on his cheek in a comforting manner. She saw his eyes shoot open in alarm, but he made no other moves. Instead, his eyes calmed and Luna could have sworn she felt him press just a little against her hand.

"This...is exactly what you do," he whispered. "I want to hurt you...I want to see that fear in your eyes...but I can't stand to see it when I finally do hurt you. What are you doing to me?"

Luna's lips twitched into the slightest smile. "Will you get angry if I tell you what my theory is?"

He was hesitant for a moment, but the Joker shook his head.

Luna bit her lip. "It seems you've never felt, or can't remember feeling, any sort of...affection toward anyone. And now...it's so different, so foreign, to you that you don't know how to handle it..."

The Joker's eyes widened. "I don't...feel that way about people..."

"You do now," Luna stated.

The Joker remained silent for a moment and then slowly, a smirk crept to his face. "Might as well make the best of this, then," he said in a low, husky voice. Then he lowered his head to Luna's and captured her ready and waiting lips, more gently this time than earlier.

With a small, barely audible giggle, Luna wrapped her arms around the Joker's neck and kissed him back, losing herself in the bliss that seeped into the room.


	15. Chapter 15

Wow. Long time, no update. Hope you like it! I should be finishing this soon. Then, if fate allows, I'll rewrite the whole thing and make it BETTER.

* * *

No one had seen the Joker or Luna for the rest of the day until finally, looking particularly disheveled, the two walked out of his room together that evening. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know what they had been up to, but everyone went about business as if they didn't suspect a thing—even Harley. That night, the Joker and the rest of the clowns made their deals with notorious mob bosses of Gotham without any inconveniences from the Batman. And in the following weeks, Luna had played a great part in the Joker's criminal activity, giving the media proof that she was indeed alive.

But the weeks of crime also built up a trait of Luna's that she was becoming very skilled in; acting. Whenever the Batman would show up to foil the Joker's plans, Luna would play the innocent mental patient (all with the knowledge of the Joker) and would keep up the act until Batman succeeded in stopping the Joker, or the Joker succeeded in his task and got away. It seemed that every night, the Batman was becoming more and more convinced that Luna was in danger, and that she really wanted help and rescue from the life of crime with the Joker.

At the moment, Luna was standing on the roof of a tall building with a walkie talkie in her hands, staring out at the night life of Gotham; the crooks coming out to play, and the wealthy going out to do the same. The shining lights of all the different buildings blocked any view of the stars at night, but Luna didn't mind too much. She wasn't there for stargazing, anyway.

"Luna," came a scratchy voice from the walkie talkie.

Luna lifted the small device up to her mouth and pressed a button on the side. "Yes, Joker?"

More scratchiness. "All the bombs are in place. Stay put until I show up. We're gonna watch the fireworks!" came the Joker's cackle from the other end of the radio signal.

Luna smiled a bit. "Affirmative," she responded. "I always wanted to say that," she murmured to herself.

It had been no less than ten minutes when the Joker made his noisy entrance to the roof of the building. Confidently, he walked over to Luna and draped an arm over her shoulders. "Ready, Doll?" he asked, giving her an evil grin.

"Ready," she confirmed, turning her face to look out at the city, preparing herself to see and hear a spectacle.

The Joker's laugh ripped through the air as he pressed the button on a small detonator. A loud explosion was heard from the rooftop and a brilliant orange and black cloud erupted to the far right, at least three miles, of the building Luna and the Joker were watching from. Luna's smile grew as the blaze lit up her eyes.

"That's enough, Joker!"

The sudden gruff voice from behind the pair startled Luna, making her whip around. When she realized it was the Batman, she let her eyes fill with (fake) fear. She sent a quick look to the Joker, signaling her act was on. "Batman!" she cried, turning back to look at him. She made a move to go closer to the masked hero, but the Joker, playing his part well, grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Ah, ah, ah. You can't just go running off to Batsy every time he shows up. How do you think that makes me feel, Luna?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and leaning his head toward hers.

"Let her go, Joker!" Batman snarled, stepping toward his arch enemy.

"Let her go? HAHA! No, no, Bats. YOU let her go! She's beyond saving," the Joker laughed.

The Batman let out a growl and charged towards the Joker, grabbing him by his violet coat and holding him up in the air with ease. In the process, the Joker let go of Luna, letting her stumble across the roof toward the center. "You're crazy. And you deserve to be behind bars and in a padded cell," the Batman growled.

The Joker laughed, grabbing the Batman's forearms. "Hah, only me Bats? I think those cells at Arkham are big enough for the two of us, wouldn't you say?" he commented slyly. "You and I aren't much different, if ya think about it. We're both a little _mad_."

The Batman glared at the Joker and held the clown so that he was almost hanging off the roof.

The Joker smirked, looking down at the cold blue eyes under the bat cowl. "Do it. Let me fall," the Joker pressed. "DO IT!"

The Batman let out a frustrated sound and pulled the Joker back onto the roof, dropping him to the floor roughly. "I won't kill you," he stated flatly.

The Joker smirked up at him from the floor. "Then this will go on forever!" he yelled, opening his arms wide and throwing his head back. "And she'll be along for the ride," he added, nodding over to where Luna was, successfully playing the role of a petrified girl.

"No she won't. She's not going to be tied up into your schemes any longer," the Batman stated, walking over to Luna.

The Joker snickered. "Now Batsy, you of all people should know I'm not a schemer!"

The Bat ignored the Joker, picking Luna up. "You're safe now," he said, his voice still gruff, but a tad softer.

Luna nodded, allowing the Batman to lift her and put her on her feet. Then the door to the roof swung open and about twenty police officers spilled out into the area, all fixing their guns on the Joker. Luna's eyes widened as she saw them all, rage burning in each officer's eyes; all of them, most probably, had been hurt by the Joker directly or indirectly. Luna knew the the slightest excuse the Joker gave them to shoot, they would not hesitate. She turned her head to the Joker, who was grinning evilly at all of the cops.

"Ahh, the boys in blue followed the big black bat," the Joker stated obviously. "I'll bet their itching to lock me up now that I'm so close."

Batman glared at the Joker, hating how the man treated everything as a joke. "And they will lock you up." He grabbed Luna's arm and led her to the exit from the roof.

Luna kept her eyes on the Joker. Just before she was pushed into the small doorway, she saw the Joker look her way and send her a wink. Slight relief washed over Luna as she saw this, then she finally turned and lost sight of the clown.

"You're safe now, Luna. We won't let him come after you," the Batman said in his annoyingly husky voice.

Luna looked up at him innocently and nodded. "Where will I go now?" she asked, keeping up her charade.

Batman hesitated for just a moment. "Back to Arkham. The Joker's been around you far too long. You might need some help recovering from his presence."

Luna's breath hitched. "NO!" she shouted, immediately trying to yank her arm away from the Batman. "Let me go! You can't take me back there!" she cried, struggling to get free.

Batman was taken by surprise when she reacted so violently, but he managed to keep a firm grip on her. "Luna, they're going to help you," he said, trying to get her to calm down before they exited the building.

Luna shook her head, her eyes welling with tears. "No! I'm not going back!" she yelled. She spun, facing the Batman with tears rolling down her cheeks. This was not an act. "Let go Batman or I'll break my arm again," she threatened.

Batman grabbed Luna from behind and picked her up so she couldn't do much of anything but kick and wiggle. He continued his way down the stairs until the exit came into view. Just a bit closer, and then he'd be able to hand her over to the police that were also waiting outside.

Suddenly shrill laughter rang through the stairwell and gunshots fired, catching both Luna and Batman off guard. Taking advantage of the moment, Luna thrashed in Batman's arms and managed to get herself free. But instead of landing on her feet like she had expected to, she missed a step and fell backwards. She landed on her back on the metal stairs and tumbled down the rest of the way before smashing against the exit door. Her vision blurred and she saw crimson stains on the stairs and floor in front of her, but she couldn't figure out where her wound was.

"Luna!" Batman shouted, but it reached Luna's ears as a muffled groan. Before the caped crusader made it to where she was, Luna was already slipping into a dark tunnel. The last thing she heard before the tunnel closed was the Joker's laughter from levels above.

Fuzzy sight of a white room was the first thing Luna saw when she opened her eyes. A white ceiling stared down at her as things began to clear up. A beeping sound was coming from her left. She turned her head, groaning at the stiffness and pain, and looked to where the sound was coming. A heart monitor. She was in a hospital? What for? She wasn't injured...was she?

"Oh! Ms. Vale, you're awake!" came a high-pitched, feminine voice from the other side of the hospital room. Luna turned her head just in time to see a short, plump woman with curly brown hair waddle out the door calling for a doctor. In just a few seconds she returned with a middle-aged man in a white doctor's coat.

"My god. She's pulled through," he said to himself, walking over to Luna's side.

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Pulled through what?" she asked. She tried sitting up but a throbbing sensation sprang to the back of her head as she moved. Instead, she kept her position on the bed.

"Dear girl, you took a terrible fall a few weeks back. You had a concussion and lots of blood loss, even for a head wound," the doctor said, brushing his greying brown hair back.

Luna's eyes widened. "When did this happen?" she asked, gasping. "I was..." she paused, "where?" she asked herself quietly. She blinked a few times, glaring down at her sheets. Then she looked up at the doctor and nurse. "Why can't I remember..?"

The doctor wrote a note down on his clipboard. "It might be an effect from the concussion. Wiping a certain part of your memory. It's quite common not to remember things for a day or two after the initial awakening. You should regain all recollections in a few days," the doctor said, looking up at Luna.

Luna looked down at the pale sheets once more, frowning. "Where am I supposed to go after getting out of the hospital? Do I live somewhere?" she asked in complete calm. It confused Luna just a bit that she was so calm about having lost her memory. Wouldn't any normal, sane person be nervous or hysterical? Her stomach turned uncomfortably. For some odd reason, she had the feeling she wasn't normal or—dare she even think it—sane.

"You will be taken to Arkham Asylum after your recovery here. Before your little accident, you were the Joker's hostage, I guess you could say," said the doctor. Luna noticed him grow slightly uneasy at the mention of the Joker.

Luna's heart fell just a bit. An asylum. That's where crazy people went, right? She sighed, confirming her gut feeling of insanity. Whoever this Joker guy was, it must have been his fault she'd be sent to the asylum.

Luna spent just one more day at Gotham General Hospital before police officers arrived in the late afternoon to take her to Arkham Asylum. Not only did Luna despise the exterior of the building, but the interior was just as bad. It was dingy and unclean, yet still blindingly white. Inmates looked terribly unkept and disgusting and the doctors looked about as trustworthy as the inmates. There would be no way in Hell that Luna would allow any of these crackpot doctors to see into her mind, whether she was insane or not.


	16. Chapter 16

Luna had been assigned a cell that afternoon and an asylum uniform. A strange feeling overcame her as she sat, staring at the white walls of her cells. She didn't feel insane. But then again, what was insanity supposed to feel like? When Luna looked around, she saw so many patients and inmates becoming hysterical, thrashing about, yelling and screaming, looking over their shoulders forever with paranoia, and more. She didn't act that way at all. She was quiet and reserved, she did whatever the doctors and nurses had told her to do so far. She didn't really have to be here.

Luna spent a week at Arkham Asylum never voicing her opinion to her doctors or anyone else. In fact, she didn't voice anything. She didn't tell her doctors anything, she never spoke with inmates. And the strange thing was that many of the people had continued on as normal, as if expecting this kind of behavior from her. How was that possible?

It was the end of her first week at Arkham and she was now sitting patiently in her doctor's office to be taken back to her cell after a long session.

"It's been a week and she's the same as ever! Not a single word!" Luna heard Dr. Cowen hiss to someone outside the office. The door was slightly cracked open and allowed Luna to listen in.

"Maybe even in her memory lapse, she retains the same feelings as before. This isn't a comfortable place for her and she won't speak. Especially if she remembers nothing," came a calmer, older-sounding voice.

"Or maybe she just needs a different approach," a new voice said. This voice was slightly higher-pitched than the others, and held a certain ring that Luna, for some odd reason, seemed to like.

"Dr. Kerr, I don't think a different approach will open her up. And besides, what do you know? You just started here two weeks ago," came the voice of her doctor. It seemed as if he felt threatened that a new employee might be better at his job that he was. It made Luna want to snort in amusement.

"Dr. Arkham, hear my reasoning. She's been asked only of what she remembers. And it's clear she has no recollection of anything prior to her few days awake at Gotham General. Maybe a different path needs to be taken. I can take over if you'd allow me," came the new voice.

There was a pause and then Luna heard an angry huff and shuffle of feet. Then the door opened fully and two big nurses came in and brought her up. When she was ushered outside, Luna looked up to see the elderly man, Dr. Arkham, and who she thought to be the owner of the newer voice she had heard. Dr. Cowen was nowhere insight.

"Luna, dear, this is Dr. Kerr. He's going to be taking over Dr. Cowen's spot in helping you," Dr. Arkham stated, introducing Luna to the new doctor.

Luna looked over to Dr. Kerr, suppressing a smile. He looked considerably younger than most of the doctors here, and he didn't look half as boring as they did. He had rather long dirty blond hair that was neatly combed back, tanned skin and dashing features, and the most intriguing brown eyes Luna had ever seen. She tilted her head to the side as she looked at him and noticed he tilted his head as well. She felt a tiny pull at her heart when she noticed this, but didn't understand where it came from.

Dr. Kerr smiled at Luna. "It's going to be a pleasure working with you, Luna," he said. Then he politely nodded to both her and Dr. Arkham before turning and walking off down the hall and disappearing around the corner.

Luna was led back to her cell and locked in right after that, but she didn't mind. She sat on her small cot and stared at the floor, letting a smile creep to her face. Why was she behaving this way just because Dr. Kerr was now her new doctor? It shouldn't be any different from the others, but it was. Some how, Luna felt Dr. Kerr wasn't like Dr. Cowen. Wasn't like any doctor in Arkham, actually. She felt a connection with him.

Luna sighed in content and leaned back against he wall of her cell. She closed her eyes and smiled once more at the thought of Dr. Kerr. Maybe tomorrow's session wouldn't be too bad. Maybe tomorrow's session would open her up a little. Maybe.

Luna couldn't have asked for a speedier day when she woke up. She barely noticed the time fly between first waking up and the time where she was led to a new office; the office of Dr. Kerr. Luna new she was in an exceptionally chipper mood, but it could have fooled the nurses, doctors, and inmates. She was an unreadable shell around them.

"Good afternoon, Luna. I trust you've had an exceptionally boring morning," Dr. Kerr smiled as the nurses left Luna in his office.

Luna's lips twitched, but remained reserved. She didn't want to let herself go in the first minute. But she had to admit, the humor was a pleasant change.

Dr. Kerr noticed the small twitch at the corner of Luna's lips and smiled triumphantly. Not even a minute had passed and he'd already stirred a reaction. "Well, I'm going to make our relationship a little more comfortable. You don't have to call me Dr. Kerr. I will be Joe to you. Sound good?" he asked.

Luna blinked a few times, her eyebrows lifting just a bit. This certainly was a nice change. No formalities.

Joe nodded, taking her silence as an OK. "Before I start asking all about you, I'm going to be selfish and take up a bit of our time telling you about me, myself, and I," he said, leaning against his desk and crossing his arms. "I'm 30 years old. I started working at Arkham Asylum just a week before you arrived. Growing up, I was an only child. My favorite colors are green and purple, and I'm a man of simple tastes."

Luna tilted her head to the side. She now knew more about Dr. K-...Joe, than any other doctor in this building. It seemed this man wasn't really into all of the formal patient-doctor bull that was accepted by the majority of these types of professionals.

Joe tilted his head to the side as Luna did and saw her analyze him in her mind. Then he saw her look at him and fully smile. Joe smirked and leaned back in his chair. "You should smile more," he said.

Luna blushed and looked down at her chained feet. Then she raised her head and sat up straight in her chair. "I'm Luna. And I don't know anything about myself," she stated cooly.

Joe raised his eyebrows and smiled widely. "Well Luna, I'm going to help you know something about yourself," he said. Then he flipped open a folder on his desk and glanced at the page. "You're Luna Vale and you're 24 years old," he read. Then he looked up at her with a small smirk. "And that's all I've got."

Luna nodded, playing with her orange jumpsuit uniform. "I'm insane, from the looks of it," she mumbled.

Joe frowned just a bit. "No, no Luna. You're not insane. You're just ahead of the curve. You must have seen the world in a different light before your fall. Tell me, what did the doctor's at Gotham General tell you?"

Luna thought back to the morning she woke up in the hospital. "They said I had been..the Joker's hostage, whoever he is. And that being around him might have given me some mental problems," she recited. Then she frowned. "I don't see why I have to be here, though. If I can't remember anything, that must mean that I won't remember any of the things I had done with him! Or what he had done to me. So that would obviously mean I'm perfectly fine," she added, becoming slightly upset.

Joe nodded, jotting things down on a paper. "Well, I don't believe you're hear because you really need mental help. I believe I've taken over your care because I want to help you remember," he stated, looking up at her. Then he cleared his throat and closed his folder. "I believe this has been enough for one day. Baby steps." He stood and opened the door, letting in a nurse to take Luna back to her cell. "I'll see you tomorrow," Joe smiled, giving her a small wave.

Luna smiled at him briefly before putting on her mask of indifference as she was led back to her cell. Once inside she sat on the floor and grinned like an idiot. A feeling of happiness snuck into her body and left her feeling good about her next sessions with this clever and unique Dr. Kerr.


	17. Chapter 17

The next day Luna had gone through a similar routine as the day before, eagerly awaiting her session with Dr. Kerr. She did not pnder why she loved being around him so much. She didn't question his methods. She was just happy to be around someone she felt comfortable with. It was like he wasn't a doctor! But that would be silly; he had to be a doctor to have gotten in here and taken over her mental care.

"How are you doing today, Luna?" asked Dr. Kerr when their session came around.

Luna smiled. "Fine. And you?" she asked.

Dr. Kerr smiled in return and stood from behind his desk. "I've held up pretty well with a few other patients. Nothing as enjoyable as the time I'll spend with you now," he joked, walking around to the other side of his desk with a key in hand.

Luna looked up at him curiously, wondering what he was going to do.

"The handcuffs and chains are a bit uncomfortable, don't you think?" he asked, reaching to Luna and grabbing her hands. He stuck the key in the cuffs and then the chains around her feet, releasing her from their bind. "There. I think that's better, don't you?" he asked, giving her a dashing smile.

Luna supressed a girlish giggle and instead smiled. "Yes. Thank you, Joe," she said, watching him as he went over to his desk and leaned against it.

"Now, how about we get started? How much do you know about that...Joker fellow who took you hostage? Have you heard anything about him lately?" he asked, pushing his hair back as it fell in front of his face.

Luna thought for a moment. "Well...I've heard he's supposed to be a real nutcase. Bipolar and all that. But I don't know. That could be the ignorant mind of society talking, instead of the truth," she shrugged. "But I've heard he hasn't been doing his usual thing lately. Seemed to have disappeared," she said.

Dr. Kerr nodded, looking at Luna, but not seeming to actually see her. "I see." Then his vision focused and he looked at Luna for real. "I don't think he's as crazy as everyone thinks," he said. Then a sudden flash appeared in his eyes as he looked at Luna. "Luna, stand up," he ordered.

Raising her eyebrows, Luna stood in front of Dr. Kerr. "What's this about?" she asked.

Dr. Kerr smiled and waved off her question. "I'm going to do something that might have very...positive results," he explained. He then twisted his wrists and flexed his fingers before curling them into a fist. "It'll only hurt for a second," he said.

Before Luna had the chance to react, Dr. Kerr's fist came down over her head and she fell to the floor. She groaned in pain and rolled over onto her back, looking up at Dr. Kerr. "Why...Joe...Kerr..." she muttered, her vision blurring and leaving her.

"This better work," Dr. Kerr snapped to himself, his voice dropping into a dark tone as he uncharacteristically glared down at the unconscious Luna. He hopped up on the desk and crossed his legs, watching as Luna's muscles contracted and she rolled onto her side, cradling her head. He heard her groan and watched as she sat up slowly.

"Wha-..." she murmured. Luna lifted her head and blinked a few times, regaining her vision. When she saw the white office walls and white doctor's coat, her eyes widened. "NO!" she yelled struggling to get to her feet. "I can't be back here! It's not possible!" she cried, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks as she whipped her head around to locate a door.

"Luna," Dr. Kerr said calmly.

Luna's eyes shot up to meet his, but instead of freaking out like she had been, she stopped all movement. "Who are you...?" she asked, finding herself trapped in his brown eyes.

"Luna Bell, I'm crushed. You don't remember who I am?" Dr. Kerr asked, a wicked smile making its way to his face.

Luna's eyes lit up and she shrieked in happiness. "Joker!" she exclaimed, shooting up and throwing her arms around his neck.

Dr. Kerr, or rather the Joker, smirked and gave Luna a quick embrace before pushing her off of his body. "Missed ya, Doll. It's been a while," he commented.

Luna's eyebrows knit. "How long of a while?"

"About a month," he shrugged.

Luna's eyes widened. "How did tha-..." she stopped. She remembered the rooftop. She remembered being taken by the Batman. She remembered her fall down the steps. "Wow...long time..." she mumbled. Then she looked over at the Joker. She let a sly smirk appear on her face as she looked at him.

The Joker raised an eyebrow and glared at her for smirking. "What?" he asked.

Luna giggled. "You look so...cleaned up and professional," she stated, walking over to him and tugging on his collared shirt under the white coat, and then pulling at a strand of loose blond hair.

The Joker smirked and grabbed Luna by the waist, bringing her toward him. "I'm a master of disguises," he said before placing his lips roughly against her's.

Luna returned the kiss and then abruptly broke apart when her knees buckled underneath her. She felt herself be caught by the Joker and looked up at him. "Now might be the time where I pass out and wake up again hours later..." she joked, recalling the past times such an event happened. She then saw the Joker's figure blur and go in and out of focus.

"If you don't remember this, I swear I'm gonna kill you," the Joker scoffed, letting her body drop from his arms to the floor.

The last thing Luna did was laugh before blacking out.

Hours later, Luna found herself staring up at her cell's ceiling. The lights were out, signaling that it was about the time where everyone was sleeping, or supposed to be sleeping. Groggily, Luna sat up and rubbed her head gently, feeling an immense headache forming. Why was it she was being hit there all the time?

Suddenly Luna smiled. She remembered. Everything. She was clear of her memory lapse. But then her smile fell. Dr. Kerr. Joe Kerr. Joker. She couldn't believe he hadn't told her who he was right off the bat. Then again, she might not have believed him. She might not have even remembered ever being with him. Luna sighed and sat back on her cot. How much longer would she be damned to this asylum?

Click.

Luna looked up as she heard the small sound come from her cell door. She saw it slowly swing open, but it revealed nothing on the other side. Then a tall figure came into view in the darkness of the doorway. It was wearing a white doctor's coat.

"Evenin' Doll," came the voice from the figure.

Luna cracked a smile and stood up, walking over to the door. "I was wondering how much longer you'd leave me in here," she said, standing in front of the Joker.

In the darkness, his wicked smile could still be seen. Then he stretched his arm out and grabbed Luna by her orange jumpsuit. He pulled her close and crushed his lips against her's, needing to feel the contact he'd missed for a month.

Luna smiled against the mad man's lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt the Joker hold onto her tighter and she lost herself in the feeling. Then the two broke apart, resting against each other's foreheads.

"C'mon," the Joker whispered, grabbing her hand and quickly rushing down the halls of the asylum with her. Unlike their last escape, the Joker didn't kill anyone on his way out. Instead, he and Luna dashed out of the building and behind a dumpster. He quickly shed his white coat and revealed he had on his trademark purple suit under the coat. He then thrust the white coat into Luna's arms. "Put that on. You look like an escaped convict," he stated.

Luna rolled her eyes at his choice of words and slipped the coat on. As soon as she had it on securely, the Joker grabbed her hand and ran with her into the city.


	18. Chapter 18

Slipping through the slums of Gotham was much easier than Luna had expected. She and the Joker slipped by any type of criminal without so much as a second look. It must have been a familiar sight to them; a couple of escaped convicts from jail or Arkham.

It wasn't long until the two had reached the Joker's warehouse. Luna was surprised to see it was still in use and not discovered by the police. Outside, there were no vans or cars. There were no lights on inside, as far as Luna could tell. It looked like it hadn't been used since the night she was hauled off to the hospital.

Luna and the Joker walked into the warehouse, and Luna found herself comforted by the familiar black and white tiled floors and colorful doors. The pair entered the "living room" and immediately two rather large men stood up and acknowledged the Joker with a simple "Boss." Luna's eyebrows rose as she saw only those two, instead of the seven or eight the Joker had previously, and no Harley.

"Downsized, much?" Luna asked, looking up at the Joker.

The man shrugged. "Can't play the game, don't sign up," he said simply. Then he turned and waltzed out of the room and into the hallway.

Luna followed, asking another question. "Where's Harley?"

The Joker once again shrugged. "Haven't seen her since you got yourself caught," he said, opening a bathroom door and flicking on the light.

Luna's mood fell just a bit. She was the only girl around once again. She didn't mind too much. At least this way Harley wouldn't be around to witness the kind of treatment the Joker and Luna gave each other. Luna looked up and watched as the Joker shrugged off his coat and draped it over the top of the door. He then turned and raised an eyebrow, looking at Luna questioningly.

"What are you smiling at?" he snapped, fully facing her and crossing his arms.

Luna blinked, not having realized she was smiling. Then she walked over to the sink and dampened a washcloth. She turned back to the Joker and lifted the cloth to his face. "I've got to admit, the cleaned up Dr. Joe Kerr is certainly a spectacle to look at," she said. Then she gently wiped the make-up from the Joker's right cheek, revealing his scar. "But the Joker is more my type."

The Joker smirked as Luna said this and wiped away the rest of the cover up that he had put on his scars to work at Arkham for that short time. As she turned around to rinse the cloth, the Joker wrapped his arms tightly around Luna's waist from behind. "Good to know." Then he took the cloth from her hand, dropped it in the sink, and led her out of the bathroom toward his room.

Luna smiled as the Joker pushed her into the room and closed the door behind him, locking it. She made her way across the room and sat down on the bed, turning to face the Joker as he stood at the door watching her. Slowly, he walked over to where she was and leaned over, his nose touching her's. Luna smirked playfully and shuffled back into the center of the bed.

The Joker raised and eyebrow and reached out, grabbing Luna's ankle and dragging her back toward him. He crawled on top of her and pinned her arms down by her head. He lowered his head and let his lips hover just a centimeter above Luna's. Luna let out a tiny sound of impatience as she tried to bring their lips together and he pulled away mischievously. But finally he lowered his lips, pressing them against her's.

Luna smiled against the Joker's lips and responded to him. She closed her eyes and arched her back as the Joker's lips left hers and traveled down her jaw and neck. He left tiny butterfly kisses all the way down to her collar bone. Luna smiled and tilted her head so he would have better access to her neck. Then she felt the Joker release one of her hands and move it down. There was a ruffle of clothing and then a small click sound was heard. Luna's eyes opened and she looked down at the Joker who now was moving up and looking at her with a mysterious smirk on his face.

"What—" Luna was cut off by the Joker as his switchblade became visible. He lifted the knife to her cheek and dragged the dull side over her skin. The Joker's eyes smoldered as he dragged the cold piece of metal across her cheek. Then he turned it over to its sharpened side and made a small cut across her cheekbone. A tiny droplet of blood seeped from the wound and slid down her cheek, giving the Joker a lusty and animal-like look in his eye.

The Joker lowered his lips to Luna's and kissed her roughly and with such a force that Luna let out a small moan of pain as he pressed against her so hard. This sound only seemed to spur the Joker on more, and he grabbed her around the waist, holding her tightly to him.

Luna pushed agains the Joker's chest in attempt to put some distance between them. She moaned softly as he bit her bottom lip but then ripped herself away from him when she tasted her own blood in her mouth. With enough force, Luna managed to wiggle away from the Joker and crawl over to the other side of the bed. She inhaled deeply, trying to catch her breath. "What the hell is the matter with you?" she asked, looking over at the Joker in shock.

The Joker gave her a wicked smile and moved over to where she was without giving her an answer. Then he grabbed her arms and violently pushed her down onto the bed.

Luna's eyes widened and she struggled under him to free herself. But the Joker had his lips to her's in an instance and she grew calmer. It was only when she heard the click of his blade that she began protesting. Luna bit down on the Joker's bottom lip and he pulled away quickly, touching his lip and eyeing the crimson blood that was now on his fingers. Taking that moment to her advantage, Luna grabbed the Joker's knife and switched their positions, pinning him under her and holding the knife to his neck. "Get a grip, Joker," she snapped, panting.

The Joker grinned up at her evilly. "That's right, Doll. Do it. Hurt me," he taunted, looking into her eyes. "C'mon. I want you to do it," he pressed.

Luna hesitated and that was all the Joker needed. He shot up and knocked the knife from Luna's hand and pushed her across the room. Luna stumbled and held herself up against a wall, glaring at the Joker. Then before she knew it, the Joker had her trapped between the wall and himself. Without hesitating, she stood on her tip toes and kissed the Joker, wrapping her arms around his neck. It was impossible to try and remain upset with him for being so crazy, for she was almost as bad as he was.

The Joker groaned and lifted Luna so that her legs were wrapped around his waist and they were kissing against the wall. His lips traveled down from her lips to her neck and then further down. He growled as he came in contact with the clothing that she was wearing. Roughly he tore at the material and exposed Luna's shoulders, making her shiver at the sudden cool air against her skin.

It wasn't long until Luna was down to merely her underwear and the Joker was only missing his coat. In a moment of regaining breath after a long kiss, Luna made it her objective to rid the Joker of his clothing. So immediately, Luna tugged at all of the buttons of the Joker's shirt and slid it off his shoulders, revealing his own pale and scarred skin underneath. Soon following were his pants. Luna had done it so quickly that it had stunned the Joker, giving her a little more time to take off his clothes.

Stepping back for just a moment, Luna looked at the Joker's body. His shoulders and chest had many scars and instead of being a lanky, oddly proportioned man that most people thought he was by looking at him in his clothing, he was actually very lean and well-built. Not able to control herself, Luna walked toward the Joker and pushed him so that he fell onto the bed.

The Joker smirked up at Luna as she crawled on top of his body. He watched as she sat on his hips and stared down at him, hunger burning in her eyes. In no time at all, she leaned down and pushed her lips against his, initiating something that the Joker had never really felt before. The way that Luna was so gentle yet forceful with him was something he hadn't experienced from a woman. Harley was a pushover, and he had done whatever he wanted to her without protest on her part. Luna held her own against him. She pushed away, and had the mind to get him back after he did something.

The two moved on the bed, the Joker now over Luna and holding her to him as they kissed and explored each other's bodies. He then placed her on the bed, sliding off the undergarments that Arkham had given her, along with his own. And in the most gentle manner he'd ever done, the Joker slid himself into Luna, surprising them both with how gentle he was. Slowly, he began to move his hips, Luna's in sync with his. For a few moments, the Joker and Luna looked into each others eyes, mirroring the purest emotion that either of them would ever feel for each other. And then the Joker crushed his lips against her's and picked up his pace.

Luna had been with the Joker only once before, but it was nothing like this. The Joker was straight to the point last time, and didn't really waste any time with romance. But now he placed butterfly kisses all over her neck, kissed her lips, and even whispered her name. It was not all gentle, though. Luna's nails dug into his back at some points, he bit her shoulders and neck and drew blood, and he even found his knife and proceeded to carve into her skin. It had lasted quite a while until finally pressure built up in both Luna and the Joker, driving them to move with each other at a pace that seemed to fast for any normal person. In final gasps and moans, the Joker and Luna held each other tightly and released all of what they had, fusing body and spirit in that one moment.

Luna panted as the Joker slid off of her body, lying next to her just as out of breath. She closed her eyes and smiled for a moment before turning on her side, wincing just a little at the soreness of her body, and looking at the Joker. She watched as he caught his breath and then opened his eyes, letting them shift over to her. He smirked and twirled his knife in his fingers, aware of Luna's cautious glance at it.

"One more thing," he said, taking a firm hold of the knife and turning his body so that he was facing Luna. He gently pushed her down on the bed and dragged the knife over the left side of her chest, right over her heart. The he applied pressure and cut into Luna's skin—probably for the millionth time that night—and carved a jagged heart into her flesh.

Luna hissed in pain as he did this, and she almost punched him in the face for it, but she resisted, not really wanting to interrupt what he was carving, lest it come out some retarded gash afterwards. After he finished, Luna smiled just a bit as the Joker tossed the knife over the side of the bed and wrapped his arms around her. She nestled against him and kissed his neck whispering, "Sadistic clown."

The Joker chuckled and kissed her forehead, responding, "Psychotic bitch."


	19. Chapter 19

Here's the last part, guys. I've gotta admit, I feel kinda bad about not being better with this story. It's from a long time ago and I cringe at the thought of going back and reading it over. There are so many things I would change. Maybe I'll revamp this entire thing and make it better for you all.

Anyway, I'm grateful for those of you that stuck around and wanted to see it reach completion. I hope you've enjoyed it. I'll be sure to be more on top of any new stories (or rewrites) that I post.

Thank you all so much. You're a lovely audience.

* * *

Luna woke the next morning to the sound of banging coming from outside the room. Slowly, she sat up and hissed in pain as the knife wounds on her body stung and pulled, threatening to open and bleed once more. She blinked a few times and then looked around, noting that the Joker was nowhere to be found. So she got up, slowly, from the bed and draped the white doctor's coat, which she found on the floor, over her body. She then walked toward the door and poked her head out, looking to see if she could locate where the sound was coming from.

Luna pinpointed that the sound was coming from a room in the far opposite corner of the hallway. Curiously, she stepped out into the hallway and made her way to the door. The banging had ceased by now, but there was definitely movement on the other side of the door. So she gently pried the door open and looked inside.

The room was dark, but there was a small window that let in just a bit of light and outlined the large figures of the Joker's henchmen.

"Ah, so Sleeping Beauty is awake!" came a chuckle from behind Luna.

She didn't bother turning around, knowing right off the bat that is was the Joker. She just smiled and let out a small giggle. "I'd hardly call myself 'Beauty' in the condition I'm in," she said.

The Joker walked up behind her and slipped an arm around her waist, turning her to face him. He smirked down at her. "I beg to differ, Luna Bell," he said, giving her a little squeeze before releasing her and kicking the door open fully. "She all packed, boys?" he asked, clapping his hands together.

"Yeah, boss. Ready to go," came the voice of one of the men now standing opposite the door.

"Mag-nificent!" the Joker laughed, waltzing in. He walked up to a large wooden crate and put one foot on it.

"What's in the box?" Luna asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"It's a crate, muh dear," the Joker corrected. Then he smirked. "A nice big surprise for Gotham!" he said, clapping his hands together.

Luna smiled a bit at the Joker's excitement for his newest device to terrorize Gotham. "What's the occasion?"

The Joker's lips twitched and his smile stretched. "Sometimes I feel like yelling to the world how happy I am," he said, evasively avoiding a direct answer. Then he looked toward his henchmen and whistled. "Pack her up, boys. She makes her debut at 2 o'clock!" Then he turned back to Luna, walking over to her and leading her out of the room. "And you'll be right there with me," he smirked.

Luna smiled, leaning against the Joker and allowing him to lead her to her room. He then left her at the doorway and walked off toward another part of the warehouse. She pieced together she should probably put on more appropriate clothing than just a doctor's coat. So she walked inside and to her closet, looking at the abundant source of clothing. She dropped the coat and was about to walk into the closet when she caught sight of herself a mirror. A tiny gasp left Luna's lips as she looked at her pale skin. What once was a perfectly unblemished body was now the work of a mad man, littered with bruises, scratches, and gashes. "Oh my..." she whispered, turning and looking at everything that the Joker had done to her last night.

After observing every injury, Luna walked into her closet and picked out a pair of spandex pants, much like Harley's, that there black and purple, and a simple black tank-top. After slipping on her clothes and putting on a pair of black flat shoes, Luna sat on her mattress and stared at the dirty floor. The Joker was much more violent than she had thought. What had gone through her mind last night that kept her from feeling all of what he had done?

Luna laughed bitterly. She loved him, as crazy as it sounded. Luna loved the Joker. It was times like this where Luna really questioned her mental health. She must have been crazy for loving the Joker. But then again, would a crazy person look at how the other person felt in reference to her feelings? That is to say, did the Joker feel the same for her? She doubted it. The Joker was a man of ever changing moods. He may have really been intimate last night because he hadn't gotten laid since before her capture. He was just satisfying his needs.

Then again, he seemed oddly kind to her—as kind as he could be—when she woke up. Maybe he did return her feelings. Maybe he wasn't as fickle as he was made out to be. Luna sighed and got up from her mattress. She put on a smile and grabbed the door knob. And then embracing her insanity, with her unconditional love for the Joker included, she walked out of her room and down the hall to the main room where everyone was gathered.

The Joker walked off, not turning back to look at Luna when he left her in front of her door. He just wanted to get away from her for a moment, yet he couldn't stand to leave her side. It bothered him that he was so attached to the woman. What was she to him that was so special?

The Joker entered his room and looked toward the bed. It was still a mess from sleep and the side Luna slept on was open from her waking up. He gazed at the sheets and stared at the bloody mess they had made last night. Slowly, he walked over to the bed and stuffed his hands in his pant pockets, looking at the crimson stains. The memories flooded back to his mind after having fought them off all morning.

How could it be so difficult to deal with emotions? Sure, he had been detached from most everything for a good while, but getting back into the 'feeling' mode shouldn't have been so hard to deal with. The Joker felt so...out of control. It wasn't his brain and heart working together to create chaos and pain. Now there was a need to make someone genuinely happy and loved. The only person the Joker would ever let those kinds of feelings awaken for. Luna.

Just the thought of Luna sent a strange tingle through the Joker's body. He felt so attached to her. He didn't want anyone else by his side other than her. But at the same time, he didn't want to be so close. He didn't want to have to have the weakness of loving someone. It would only lead to devastation. But Luna was insane, just as he was. They knew what a criminal life consisted of, as well. It might not be so farfetched; a criminal couple, literally, roaming the streets of Gotham side by side, creating havoc and knowing full well every situation they got into, having no regrets of anything.

The Joker smirked and then turned on his heel, walking back toward the door. So maybe Luna was a positive change for him, and negative for Gotham. He liked anything negative for the city. He stood in front of his door and took in a breath, never before having to psyche himself for something he had planned- and there never were any plans before. "Look out, Gotham. By tonight, you're in for the worst ride of your life," he said to himself. Then he put on a smile and walked out of his room, Luna and tonight fresh in his mind.

Luna had been awake now for a total of four hours. And at the moment, she was standing atop a parking garage with a walkie-talkie in hand. It should have felt like an odd scene of deja vu, but Luna felt in her stomach that this wasn't going to end like last time had. She sighed and sat on the edge of the roof, looking at the cars drive around in the late afternoon, near evening, time. The Joker would be there any second, and he had promised her a surprise.

"Don't fall, Doll. Can't be losing you to a fifteen story drop," came a playful voice from behind her.

Luna smirked and tossed a loose piece of concrete over the edge. "Yeah. Looks pretty lethal," she laughed, turning her head to look at the Joker. She let her eyes travel over his purple-suited body, imaging the toned man she had seen underneath last night. Her stomach did a flip as he inched closer to her, a mysterious grin playing on his lips. She tilted her head to the side curiously. "What?"

The Joker tilted his head to the side as well. "What?"

Luna rolled her eyes and faced him fully. "That grin. What's up?" she asked.

The Joker's grin widened and he stepped toward her, closing the distance between them in one easy stride. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her nose lightly. "My surprise. Or yours, rather," he replied.

Luna smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Mmm. I'm so curious. The suspense is killing me," she whined.

The Joker chuckled darkly. "Curiosity killed the cat."

"But satisfaction brought her back," Luna countered without hesitation.

The Joker let out a shrill laugh and then reached a hand into his pocket. "Very nice," he commented her comeback. Then he pulled out of his pocket a makeshift detonator and held it in front of Luna's face.

"How'd I know a bomb was included?" she asked, smirking. She took the detonator from his hands as he gently pushed it toward her. She examined it and then looked up at him. "I get to do the honors?" she asked, smiling widely.

The Joker simply motioned toward the city.

Excitement bubbled in Luna's chest as she turned to face the many buildings. Then with a deep breath, she pressed the button of the detonator and a building two blocks down exploded in a loud blast and cloud of orange and black. Luna looked at the damage with wide, dancing eyes. Arms wrapped themselves around her and she looked up to see the Joker looking at the explosion as well. She turned her head back and watched as the flames erupted from the crumbling mass and sirens began to wail through the city. And then she felt the Joker take her left hand and slip something onto her ring finger.

Luna looked down and her heart stopped for a moment before kickstarting and beating ten times faster. On her finger was a thin silver band with a crescent moon shaped stone perched on top. Taken aback from the romantic gesture, Luna pulled out of the Joker's arms and looked at him with wide eyes.

The Joker stood in his place, sticking his hands in his pockets, waiting patiently for Luna to recover. It had scared even him when he placed the ring on her finger, for he was NEVER known to do anything sweet or generous for anyone. But Luna, in some crazy way, changed just a tiny part of his character. And though he hated it, he loved it as well, just as he did her.

Luna's shocked face remained frozen for a few moments before she launched herself against the Joker and kissed him deeply. The Joker wrapped his arms around her and the two became so caught up in their kiss that they hadn't even noticed the police arrive and flood out onto the rooftop.

"Step away from each other," came a command from one of the cops holding a gun at the two.

Luna reluctantly pulled away and glared at the police officers. "Can't you see we're having a moment? My goodness. How rude of some boys in blue," she said.

The Joker chuckled and then pulled a machine gun out from under his coat before any cop could do anything. He held the gun in both hands, having moved Luna to stand in front of him so he could have a steady hold of the gun while still keeping his arms around her waist. "Really, Doll Face. Can't a couple o' clowns get a little privacy?"

"We're not playing around. Drop the weapon and step away from each other," came another order.

The Joker sighed and rolled his eyes. "You guys always want to do things the hard way," he stated. Then he smirked and shot three officers with the gun before ducking behind a large metal structure on the roof as police shots began to fire.

Luna and the Joker smiled at each other, giving one another a quick kiss. Then Luna pulled out a gun of her own—from nowhere, it seemed. And so their lives of crime, together forever, began with their coupled laughter and gunshots.


End file.
